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SALT LAKE CITY — Each night, about 3,500 Utahns experience homelessness; 30% are families with children.
Utah leaders are calling for residents to help those 3,500 people by donating to the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Trust Fund. Donations to the fund go directly to organizations statewide that provide services and assistance to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Utah individuals and businesses can donate to the fund on state tax returns, online or by mailing in a check using instructions on the Department of Workforce Services website.
"My call to action today is to ask every Utahn who is filing a tax return this year to donate a few dollars," Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said at a press conference Thursday. "When everyone gives a little bit, we can actually do a lot."
Cox said over 10,000 individuals are served annually by the organizations who have benefited from donations to the fund, which include the Geraldine E. King Women's Resource Center, the Road Home shelter, YWCA and Catholic Community Services. The women's resource center, for example, shelters 200 women year-round and an additional 50 during the winter. Last year, it helped 169 women transition into housing.
"I'm more optimistic now than I've ever been when it comes to what we're trying to do in this state," the governor said. "I know we're not there yet, but I do see the path forward. There is a tremendous amount of hope."
Pamela Atkinson — the fund's namesake and an advocate for the homeless who's served as an advisor to four governors — echoed Cox's positive outlook on the work being done to address homelessness and affordable housing in Utah.
"Yes, we do have problems — but, oh my goodness, look at the solutions that we've come up with," Atkinson said. "Please give plenty of money, and please add on those extra zeros if you can afford it. Please just take time to celebrate the great things being done that are really changing people's lives. ... please, when you hear the stories of people who haven't been helped or who didn't want help, just think of the people who have been helped and have moved on."
"If everybody gave $3, $4 or $5 — that amount of money alongside all the other small donations — my word, it adds up to an awful lot, doesn't it?" she continued.
