- Switchpoint broke ground on 76 new housing units in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
- CEO Carol Hollowell highlighted the growing demand and older adult homelessness concern.
- Funding comes from Salt Lake County and partners; completion expected by March 2027.
SALT LAKE CITY — As county leaders and Switchpoint officials broke ground Thursday morning on a new expansion at a Salt Lake City homeless resource center, one resident offered a reminder of what a place like it can mean.
"This is something I wrote," James Head said.
Head, who lives at Switchpoint's housing facility near the Salt Lake City airport, recently wrote a poem.
He's not a poet, but he figured it was a way for him to let Switchpoint administrators know what the facility means to him.
"It's a thank you," he said.
For Head, the facility is more than just a place to stay.
"To change the feeling of the value and self-worth," he said while reading from his poem.
Switchpoint provides what's known as supportive housing, which is long-term housing paired with services like job training, health care and food assistance.
"It means to me a place where we can live here in comfort and safety," Head said.
The ceremonial groundbreaking announced the addition of 76 new housing units at the facility's campus.
Switchpoint CEO Carol Hollowell said the expansion comes as demand continues to grow, with a waitlist already in place for current units.
"It's not going to fix all the problems, but at least we're hopefully making a dent in this population that should not be homeless in the first place," Hollowell said.
Hollowell said one of the most concerning trends is the growing number of older adults experiencing homelessness.
"That's the piece that just makes my heart hurt so bad is when we're looking at our seniors or our veterans who are on fixed incomes, and that is not keeping pace with what inflation has done in housing or food or just basic cost of living," she said.
Construction is expected to be completed by March 2027, with residents expected to begin moving in by April 2027.
Funding for the project comes from Salt Lake County, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other community partners.
"Is it stressful? Yes. My job is really stressful, but there's not one day that I go, 'Did we make an impact?'" Hollowell said. "It's always a yes. We are helping. We are saving lives. But we're giving a quality of life to people, and that's what keeps me going."
For Head, the impact of having stable housing is deeply personal.
"To build a good foundation," he said while reading from his poem.
For him, that foundation means not having to worry about basic needs.
"And to not worry and stress about if you're going to have something to eat," he said. "It's important for a lot of people. That helps stretch their budgets."
