At any point in time, multitudes of people across a broad spectrum of humanity, from newborn babies to senior citizens are enduring homelessness. There are people in the throes of addiction. There are people facing various physical, emotional, behavioral or mental health challenges. There are families facing complex personal challenges. And there are multitudes of people who are simply forced out of the housing market as the price for housing continues in an upward spiral.
As the incoming chair of the board of trustees for The Road Home, I would like to thank our many community partners, volunteers and staff for their tireless work and dedication to serving Utah’s most vulnerable people.
This amazing non-profit organization helps Utah’s downtrodden with compassion and skill. The Road Home’s service model in caring for Utah’s homeless people at the Salt Lake Community Shelter and in its other facilities has evolved over many, many years, and continues to evolve, with the partnership and guidance of community leaders, Shelter the Homeless, and with the help of many other community partners.
The new model for homeless services provision in Utah includes plans for the closure of the Salt Lake Community Shelter in June 2019, but this emergency shelter is just one of the facilities operated by The Road Home. The non-profit will continue to have an active role in the new model and provide compassionate service and hope for individuals and families who are homeless, through its Midvale Family Shelter, Palmer Court permanent supportive housing and its various assisted housing and affordable housing options around Salt Lake County.
Caring for homeless people is a very complicated business and has required The Road Home to create a network of community partners including, amongst others, South Valley Services, Volunteers of America, Valley Mental Health, Fourth Street Clinic and the Utah Food Bank, as well as local law enforcement and peace officers. These collaborations and partnerships will continue.
The Downtown Shelter is a low-barrier shelter, meaning it offers refuge to people who turn to it in times of great need, including those who are addicted to illegal or prescription drugs, to alcohol, or have mental illness. In many cases, people turned away from other facilities are welcomed by The Road Home, even in the knowledge of the extra challenges that brings. Without The Road Home’s emergency shelter, many people would literally die on the streets, because they have no other place to go.
We know that homelessness isn’t just about losing a home. It’s about losing faith, family and familiarity. It’s about losing the secret dream you have for your life and your place in the world. The Road Home, with the help of its partners and the community, seek to give a small measure of that precious commodity – hope – to aid the homeless in the Salt Lake Community Shelter and its other facilities.
The best practices deployed in the Road Home shelters and housing operations are seen as models in the industry, yet they recognize there is still much to do and seek out and implement new and innovative ways to enhance the lives of the clientele they serve.
The Road Home has received 12 consecutive four-star ratings from Charity Navigator. Its highly skilled and informed leadership have made a significant, positive impact on our community and should continue to play a key role in Utah’s effort to tackle homelessness in SLC and the state.
The Road Home lends people in our community an open hand when the world offers nothing but a clenched fist. It stands for humanity over hardness, compassion over closed doors, open hearts over heartbreak.
I am honored and privileged to serve as chair of the board for The Road Home. I encourage the community to continue to donate to and support this compassionate and nationally-recognized organization that seeks to help people step out of homelessness and back into the community.
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Chris Acton, Salt Lake City, is chair of the board of trustees and president of The Road Home, as well as general manager, finance, Rio Tinto.
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