The grim reality of what it’s like to be homeless can, for the most part, only be told through the eyes and voices of those who have lived it or are close to someone who has.
For Jarod Beardon, he said his personal experience of being homeless has scarred him in ways he has yet to come to grips with.
“I remember having to walk the streets at night, having to look for a safe and secure place. I remember feeling so tired that I felt like at any moment I could pass out on the streets or in some random ditch. I remember having a working cellphone but not having one number or person that I could call that would let me stay the night,” he recalled.
Beardon said his bout with homelessness started in Arizona and continued after he relocated to Utah. He shared his story with a crowd of people who gathered at Pioneer Park for a candlelight vigil to memorialize more than 75 individuals who died while experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County over the past year.
Beardon said he spent about five years of his life homeless. He was reluctant to recount that time in his life due to the trauma and feelings of dehumanization he dealt with.
“What I remember the most was the looks that I would get from people going to work and how low I felt, and for the first time in my life, I felt less than and, quite frankly, not human,” he shared with attendees.
Thursday’s vigil is an annual event held on, or as close as possible, to the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.
The vigil included a reading of 78 names of those who died, a moment of silence, a poem and traveler’s prayer, as well as other speakers and music to honor and remember those who have passed.
Names are collected throughout the year and added to the list — to be remembered by homeless providers and advocates, according to the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness.
Wayne Niederhauser, who retired as the state’s homeless coordinator on Dec. 5, highlighted the state’s progress in providing services and resources for the homeless, while also acknowledging the ongoing challenges Utah faces in ending homelessness.
“It’s the lack of resources, it’s (the) scarcity of treatment and housing and a lot of other things. And it seems that when there’s a scarcity of something, it’s our most vulnerable populations that end up without,” he said.
Earlier this month, in his fiscal year 2027 budget proposal, Gov. Spencer Cox asked for $50 million to be put toward homelessness services, including funding for the Other Side Village and the construction of a new state homeless services campus.
Maygan Martinez, chairperson of the lived expert task group for the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness, said the vigil honors individuals who may not have had traditional funerals.
Martinez has previously spoken to attendees during the annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Vigil about her experience of being homeless between the ages of 18 and 21.
She and others who spoke during the event stressed the humanity of homeless individuals, advocating for universal support and safe housing.
“Homeless folks are human beings, right? We deserve a place to live; we deserve a place to stay that is warm, safe and inviting, no matter our circumstances,” she said, “because in reality, many of us are a paycheck away from being homeless ourselves.”
Some in attendance at the vigil came to pay their respects to those they knew personally who have passed on.
“They’re being celebrated, their names are in everybody’s ears and so they are being known. But it’s really sad that this is how their names are known. And I wish that we could do better and help better,” said Tiffany Holdaway, a Salt Lake resident, who said she has also spent previous years in homelessness but has since turned her life around.
Beardon, who now works at the Inn Between, a medical respite and hospice care facility in Salt Lake City for people experiencing homelessness, acknowledged the progress made by state leaders to combat homelessness in Utah, but feels more support and compassion is needed.
“The most important thing we need: We need people not to judge, and we need people not to look at homeless people like they’re not people because they are,” he said. “We need your compassion; we need you to offer up dignity.”
