Church joins Miller and Walker funds in multimillion-dollar donation to reduce homelessness

A nonprofit organization that offers comprehensive services to combat homelessness and poverty will continue its aggressive expansion due to a new donation of $3.8 million, according to a news release.

The donors to Switchpoint are:

• The Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund, which gave $1.8 million.
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which donated $1 million.
• The Gail Miller Family Foundation, which provided $1 million.

“This funding not only enables us to enhance the infrastructure of our project but also to expand the range of services we can offer to our residents, fostering a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive,” Switchpoint CEO Carol Hollowell said.

Switchpoint offers what Hollowell calls an intensive wraparound portfolio of services intended to help lift people and families out of poverty. The group provides “opportunity with accountability,” Hollowell said earlier this year .

Switchpoint has developed five affordable housing projects since 2020, adding 266 units to Utah’s deeply affordable housing inventory, and Hollowell set a goal to add 1,000 units in 2024.

The group launched a housing project in Salt Lake City and the new donation will help fund Phase 2. The first phase included 91 studio apartment units opened in 2020 for seniors and veterans experiencing homelessness. The housing project is in the Fairpark area at 130 N. 2100 West.

Phase 2, which is expected to open by spring 2025, will add a two-story building with three new studio apartments, a community room, library and case management offices. It also includes upgrades to the electrical and fire sprinkler systems.

Switchpoint residents typically pay 40% of the area median income in monthly rent.

The church has been a major donor to an array of homeless programs in the Salt Lake City area for decades.

“The Miller Family Foundation and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have consistently demonstrated their commitment to helping people experiencing homelessness and poverty and have supported the Switchpoint vision and mission,” the news release said.

In fact, the church has previously provided funds to Switchpoint for housing in Tooele .

Switchpoint runs microenterprises like thrift stores, a coffee company and a garden to provide employment opportunities to residents and generate funding for its projects. It also offers 24/7 child care, housing assistance, drug treatment facilities and more.

Switchpoint opened its first shelter in St. George in 2014 with a police substation on the campus, part of its requirement that clients act with accountability, and Hollowell has said that those who are ready step up to expectations.

“If people can see unsafe behavior is not going to be tolerated, it mitigated a lot of predatory actions that were happening,” she has said.

Hollowell was honored in April with the sixth annual Utah Community Builder Award.

“Switchpoint addresses the layers that keep people stuck, offering a wide array of services to set them on a new path,” a news release said .

Hollowell wrote about Switchpoint’s model in a blog post for the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah.

“The culture of this model is deeply rooted in a strong foundation, the amalgam of 5 principles to which staff and volunteers and our clients adhere. Together, we make a Switchpoint,” she wrote, adding:

• “We demonstrate Kindness in every interaction in which we engage.
• “We build Kinship by meeting everyone we encounter where they are.
• “We nurture Self Reliance. We model and reward the taking of responsibility for our actions. We do the work, and we accept accountability.
• “We establish Connection. We reach out. We don’t just join hands, we link arms. Together we can do more. We acknowledge challenges and celebrate victories no matter the size.
• “We honor Self-Worth. In all matters we respect the value of the other. Merging our values results in a breathing mass of human potential.”

Hollowell also published a book this year titled “ Get Going: Solve Homelessness Today .”