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Christmas came early on Thursday for two programs that help Utah veterans.
The gift came in the form of checks totaling $7,000 that will support the 3rd District Court-based Veterans Treatment Court and the outreach programs for homeless veterans through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) office in Salt Lake City.
The donations were made during the regular Thursday session of Veterans Court before Judge Royal Hansen.
The money is from the proceeds of the 32nd annual Nick E. Yengich Memorial and Grandma Gump 5K Fun Run. Sponsored by prominent Salt Lake City defense attorney Ronald Yengich, the run honors his late brother and the late Draper Justice Court Judge Geraldine Ennis.
"We want to help you because we believe that no one is ever forgotten," Salt Lake City defense attorney Ron Yengich said, who welled up with tears. "Sometimes our memories seem to fade when we have people do difficult and hard jobs for us. We don't want that to happen with you."
This is the second year that funds from the 3.2-mile race, which winds through the community of Copperton at the mouth of Bingham Canyon, have supported programming for veterans.
On Thursday, Yengich said all future proceeds will also go to veterans.
The presentations brought applause and some tears to the courtroom, where many stood to express their thanks and shake Yengich's hand as he departed.
"This is a great day in Veterans Court," the judge said. "We won't forget it."
Veterans Court program coordinator Keith Brown also thanked Yengich for his generosity and said the gesture brought to mind this family motto: You are what you do.
"What you have done here is heroic," Brown said.
Now about a year old, Veterans Court is a diversion program that allows veterans charged with crimes to avoid incarceration. The program, which currently has about two dozen participants, has a military-style structure and requires vets to enroll in counseling programs and stay sober while they work to resolve their cases.
The race donation of $3,000 will fund performance incentives and other items for those in the program, said Amy Earle, justice outreach coordinator for the local VA.
The balance of the funds — $4,000 — will support homeless outreach programs, including supplying veterans with basic necessities, like household goods, as they attempt to rebuild their lives.
Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) 2015 annual report on homelessness shows that about 11 percent — or roughly 48,000 individuals — of all homeless adults nationwide are veterans.
That number has declined steadily since 2009, although the HUD data shows Utah's numbers have risen between 2009 and 2015. The HUD data indicates about 1 percent of Utah's homeless population is comprised of veterans.
Earle said VA staff and their community partners have identified about 34 vets who are considered chronically homeless.