- Cody Martensen overcame poverty through the Circles Initiative, now helping others.
- The Know Poverty Summit highlighted Utah's rising poverty rate and financial struggles.
- Community Action Services' 2025 assessment identifies housing and food insecurity as key issues.
PROVO — The traumatic thoughts of living in poverty can linger on, well after a person has reached financial stability.
It's a feeling that Cody Martensen knows well.
Two years ago, Martensen took a job as coordinator for the Circles Initiative for Utah and Wasatch Counties — a program he had once been a member of that helped turn his life around.
Circles, an extension of the Community Action Services and Food Bank organization — supports people struggling with poverty by helping them reach financial independence by connecting them with various resources needed to overcome life's hurdles.
Martensen turned to Circles nearly a decade ago after he became sober following years of addiction.
"I got sober 10 years ago, got custody of two of my kids — didn't really know how to take care of them (or) how to take care of myself. New to life, I felt like and just needed support," he explained.
During his time in the program, Martensen learned to budget his finances, among other skills that helped him achieve self-sufficiency in an environment that fosters community support.
"I just took the classes and just surrounded myself with good people," he said. "I had a saying that was on my mirror for my whole recovery — 'show me your friends, and I'll show you your future'."
Martensen, like the many individuals who graduate from Circles, was given the tools to escape poverty; he's now committed to helping others do the same. Last Wednesday, Circles held its annual Know Poverty Summit at the Provo Library, where state and local leaders gained a better understanding of the reality many Utahns face.
Speakers included Provo Mayor Marsha Judkins; Aimee Winder Newton, director of the governor's Office of Families, as well as graduates of the Circles program.
Jessica Miller, chief impact officer at Community Action Services and Food Bank, who also spoke, discussed the organization's 2025 community needs assessment, which identified housing and food insecurity, as well as gaps in equitable income, as key issues across Utah County.
"The goal really is to kind of increase awareness about what is happening in the county and so that we can have more voices contributing to finding solutions to these issues," she said.
The assessment found that as inflation continues to rise along with the cost of living and buying a home, more people are finding themselves in a constant struggle to keep up financially — with some resulting in homelessness.
"I go to different events, and I hear how we want to maintain our Utah lifestyle of a single breadwinner and a stay-at-home mom — and that means that we need to have wages that support that," said Miller. "And as housing costs are going up, that's not really the reality that many families are facing; so I think those are conversations that it's important to talk about."
Utah's poverty rate saw a slight jump between 2022 and 2023 — increasing from 8.3% to 9%, according to a 2024 study.
Those attending last Wednesday's summit got a small taste of what that life may feel like during a poverty simulation. Participants are grouped into families and are tasked with facing several real-world scenarios as they try to survive living an entire month in poverty.
"That's a really powerful experience," Miller described it.
For Martensen, the simulation brings back some difficult memories.
"Yeah, it's almost triggering for like a minute, and then I have to remind myself, it's not your life today," he told KSL.
Ultimately, the organization hopes that events like the annual Know Poverty Summit ignite passion and determination among local leaders in the fight against poverty.
Martensen invites others to get involved in the Circles Initiative by becoming an ally with someone in the program, volunteering or donating.
Those interested in learning more about the organization's efforts and upcoming events can visit the website.
