Homelessness in St. George: How big of a problem is it?

Homelessness in St. George: How big of a problem is it?

(Spencer Ricks, St. George News)


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ST. GEORGE — Alone with a four-month-old baby, Dana Hepworth’s only shelter was a bush to keep her and her baby warm through the nights.

Hepworth, a 37-year-old single mother of eight children, was homeless in St. George — a city known for its tourism, golf courses and constant sunny weather. She was evicted from her home by an abusive ex-husband who she said kept most of her children, minus her 11-year-old son who started staying at friends’ houses.

“When I was evicted, I had no money to my name,” Hepworth said. “I was sad, hurt, disappointed.”

Hepworth would end up walking around at night because she couldn’t sleep much in the bushes, she said. And even though she didn’t have a roof over her head, she wasn’t unemployed. Hepworth was pulling in $7.34 an hour working at Sears before it closed down, which was nowhere near the amount needed to rent an apartment in St. George.

“I may be homeless, but I’m one of the better-off ones because I actually had a job each and every time that I was homeless,” Hepworth said.

After seven years of being homeless, living with friends and being in and out of local homeless shelters, Hepworth found a haven at Switchpoint, a nonprofit homeless shelter and community resource center in St. George. Her baby has grown into a busy five-year-old named Spencer, who attends kindergarten and loves Mario Kart. Spencer also now has a one-month old baby sister as well, who Hepworth joked was “spoiled.”

The Switchpoint Community Resource Center offers a homeless shelter and services for people in poverty, March 15, 2018. (Photo: Michael Egbert, St. George News)
The Switchpoint Community Resource Center offers a homeless shelter and services for people in poverty, March 15, 2018. (Photo: Michael Egbert, St. George News)

Hepworth is now on the cusp of finally moving into her own apartment after working a higher-paying job. After the experience of living on the streets, being able to have her own place is something Hepworth said is more than exciting.

The problem of homelessness in St. George

Hepworth isn’t alone in her struggles with homelessness in St. George. People in St. George often don’t realize how big of a problem homelessness is in Washington County, Switchpoint Director Carol Hollowell said.

“People think we don’t have (homeless people) because we don’t have large camps or people sleeping in our parks or people doing drugs on the bike trails,” Hollowell said. “People just think we’re a quiet, sleepy little town and that we don’t have those problems when we really do.”

There are often 250 people each night on the waiting list to even get into the shelter

A couple thousand individuals come through the Switchpoint shelter each year, including a consistent 80 people each night, Hollowell said. There are often 250 people each night on the waiting list to even get into the shelter.

To read the full story, visit St. George News.

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