facebook-pixel

She has been called Utah’s ‘Mother Teresa.’ Now a homeless resource center bears her name.

The men’s facility in South Salt Lake is at least the fourth community resource named in her honor.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Workers install a new sign the South Salt Lake men's resource center, now named after longtime advocate Pamela Atkinson, on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022.

  | Oct. 7, 2022, 12:00 p.m.

A homeless resource center in South Salt Lake has a new name to honor a longtime advocate for unhoused Utahns.

The men’s resource center, 3380 S. 1000 West, is now named after Pamela Atkinson, according to an announcement from Shelter the Homeless, the nonprofit that owns the three resource centers serving the Salt Lake Valley.

“I’m very humbled by it and very honored by it,” Atkinson said in a phone interview. “I know it hasn’t had a name since it was built, but it never occurred to me that it would take my name.”

Atkinson, now a senior adviser to Gov. Spencer Cox, has served multiple administrations in the Beehive State. Then-Gov. Gary Herbert referred to Atkinson as Utah’s “Mother Teresa.”

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Pamela Atkinson, shown in 2019, says she feels "humbled" and "honored" that the homeless resource center in South Salt Lake has been named after her.

Laurie Hopkins, executive director of Shelter the Homeless, said the decision to name the building after Atkinson came from the president of the nonprofit’s board, Zions Bancorp CEO Harris Simmons.

“Pamela has been a very compassionate community leader in supporting those most vulnerable,” Hopkins said.

Wayne Niederhauser, state homeless coordinator, said it is only fitting to name the resource center after Atkinson. “She’s been such a great advocate for those experiencing homelessness for many years.”

The Pamela Atkinson Resource Center becomes at least the fourth community resource to be named after Atkinson.

The Fourth Street Clinic, a clinic at Liberty Elementary School and a supportive housing complex (dubbed Pamela’s Place) also bear the name of one of the most prominent voices in Utah’s fight against homelessness.

The three homeless resource centers — all named after noteworthy women — opened in fall 2019 and provide shelter and supportive services.

The men’s facility in South Salt Lake is the final one to get a name. The Geraldine E. King Women’s Resource Center in Salt Lake City provides emergency shelter and services to 200 women nightly, while the Gail Miller Resource Center, also in Utah’s capital, serves men and women.