It’s 5:30 a.m. in January and I’m in the basement of First United Methodist Church. It’s warm and cozy compared to the subfreezing weather outside. A projector flickers its quiet story onto a screen and illuminates a room full of people sleeping on cots. As the day approaches, volunteers like me scuttle in and out of the kitchen, bringing urns of coffee and hot cocoa to the breakfast table.
At 5:40, the kitchen window opens, spreading light and the smell of oatmeal and hot maple syrup throughout the room. It is time to wake up. People form a sleepy line and our team serves them a hot meal. I can see that they are bracing themselves for another day in the cold streets, but everyone says thank you for the bowl of warm sustenance. After breakfast, all 83 bodies gather their bedding and belongings and check out of the Code Blue pop-up overnight shelter, aka “movie night.”
I believe that a civilization is only as strong and healthy as its most vulnerable constituents, and that achievement is gained through connection with the collective, not the forced alienation and casting out of those less fortunate. Unsheltered Utah is one of several organizations that are creating systemic resilience through grassroots care networks.
In 2025, homelessness in Utah rose by 18%. Although “more people are accessing shelter than in the past” through city initiatives, I wonder how that support is received and how it contributes to a greater sense of stability, resilience and emergency preparedness in our community. As the cost of living and climate uncertainty increase, then we will surely continue to see homelessness and instability. And the ways in which we address these conditions now will reflect the ways we will grow in the future.
People experiencing homelessness represent one of the most climate-vulnerable populations in the United States, facing disproportionate exposure to hazards such as extreme heat, air quality and severe cold. This vulnerability is exacerbated by a "triple threat” of preexisting health conditions, prolonged exposure times and systemic policy failures.
Many of us are aware of the proposed homeless campus which left many of us with lingering questions and big emotions. A New York Times article described the campus as a concentration camp. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox published a statement on Aug. 13, 2025, in which he described everything Utah has been doing so far as a “complete and abject failure.” But public opinion questioned whether this facility would really provide what people need to thrive.
The new state homeless coordinator Tyler Clancy has now rolled out a proposal called “Project Bridge” to infuse several million dollars into preexisting shelters to ensure there is overflow and case management capacity at each location. Clancy described Project Bridge as “a shift in how the state is responding to homelessness.”
The dramatic increase in climate disasters and cost of living has guaranteed that we all face an uncertain future. The prevalence of people facing unsheltered homelessness and addiction is a symptom of the slow disaster of modern systems of oppression in action. The more that policymakers can support efforts to build a resilient community, the more compassionate and exemplary our city will become.
Organizations like Unsheltered Utah, 2nd and 2nd Coalition, The City Library, Switchpoint, Volunteers of America, The Road Home, Ville Property Management, and many others have worked tirelessly to build community connections to ensure that basic needs are met. These organizations are often underfunded, relying heavily on volunteer labor and community donations. I work at the Main Library in downtown Salt Lake City and I have seen how these sources create a stronger fabric of interconnected resilience the more they are supported physically, financially and spiritually.
Do you share the vision of a more compassionate world? Contact individuals on the Utah Homeless Services board, which consists of influential decision-makers. Your senators, representatives and community councils will also hear your opinions. It’s time to wake up. Simple everyday acts of kindness, generosity and volunteerism weave the resilient and compassionate cultural tapestries that bring us all together.