2021 marks the first year that Tifie has set aside funds to help folks in Salt Lake City who need shelter, food, clean water, access to power, assistance getting job – almost all of the pillars that Tifie’s supports in our projects. Through the process of getting to know the various SLC organizations who work together to provide services to individuals experiencing homelessness, we learned about how complicated the problems and solutions are to ending homelessness. It truly is amazing what each group is doing every day to provide the best help possible, balancing the resources available to them with the constraints they are experiencing across all organizations this year because of funding and city ordinance changes.
Tifie gives $30,000 to 3 Local Organizations
After interviewing various organizations, we narrowed down our options to Utah Community Action, the Food & Justice Coalition, and the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake City. It was wonderful to hear each of the organization speak so highly of each other, and essentially tell us that regardless of where we donated to, the money would be spent well.
The mission of the UCA is to empower individuals, strengthen families, and build communities through self-reliance and education programs. They specifically have programs that assist with rent relief, nutrition, utilities, a preschool program, and adult education classes to help with job skills. Our mission statements mirrored one another, and it was an obvious connection in programs that provide long and short term solutions for people on the brink of homelessness or who are currently don’t have a stable housing situation. They work with local shelters to provide these services as people are looking for nightly stays, as well as access through holistic case management.
The Food & Justice Coalition is a newer organization that we are proud to support and volunteer with. They focus on providing fresh vegan meals to individuals in SLC, all powered by community support. Food is purchased from donations or gathered from local farms, then volunteers cook, prepare and distribute the fresh meals. The Barebones team has come along side the Food & Justice Coalition, having weekly volunteer shifts, donating supplies, and promoting the organization. For many team members, its been a heart-warming, humbling and meaningful experience to not just prepare the meals, but to hand out tasty meals and have a few conversations to connect with the folks they were feeding.
The Rescue Mission of Salt Lake is a long-time SLC program provider, offering meals, beds, addiction recovery programs, food boxes, showers, day space, as well as dozens of other services. Many of the folks served here actually have jobs, but don’t make enough to afford the almost $1200/monthly average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in SLC currently. The “hidden homeless” make up almost 25% of their population, as well as the “working homeless” who are saving up for their first month or last month’s rent. Many have elaborate ways to stay warm at night: doing laundry slowly all night so they can sleep in between loads, taking Trax to the airport, snoozing in a chair under the guise of waiting for an early flight, or working out a gym as late as possible to stay out of the cold. These very real life stories are heart breaking to hear, and we’re so thankful these organizations are making a real differences for these individuals.
