Shelter the Homeless today unveiled the name of the new Salt Lake facility, the Gail Miller Homeless Resource Center.
The new resource center at 242 Paramount Avenue in Salt Lake City is scheduled to open in July.
“We have been overwhelmed by the dedication, leadership and selflessness of Gail Miller and her family in working to address the issue of homelessness in our community for many years,” Shelter the Homeless Board President Harris Simmons said. “This is the least we could do to recognize these tireless efforts.”
Simmons noted that Miller “didn’t ask for this honor,” or make a contribution that made her eligible to have her name on the new resource center. “In fact, it took a lot of convincing to get Gail to agree to accept our gratitude and lend her name to this important mission.”
Miller has dedicated significant time and resources to the issue of homelessness in Utah, including serving as co-chair of the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Commission on the Homeless and playing an active role on the State Homeless Coordinating Committee, Salt Lake County Collective Impact on Homelessness Steering Committee and on the board of Shelter the Homeless. Miller and her family also have opened the doors of the Vivint Smart Home arena for 20 years to provide one of the community’s largest Thanksgiving dinners for those experiencing homelessness.
“Our challenge is ending homelessness,” Miller said. “We have made some good progress and at the same time, we have a lot of work to do. We all can make a difference. Please join my family in supporting this important cause by making a donation to Shelter the Homeless to help provide services in the new resource centers.”
The Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation will match contributions to Shelter the Homeless dollar-for-dollar up to $10 million. To date, donations matched by the Miller Family Foundation have equaled more than $4.6 million. This includes contributions from a diversity of people, companies and public entities.
Shelter the Homeless is working with state and local government leaders and key community stakeholders toward replacing the downtown Salt Lake community shelter this fall with a network of three smaller homeless resource centers spread across the city. These resource centers are part of a broader change by implementing long-term strategies that address the complex issues of homelessness and help individuals achieve self-reliance and housing stabilization.
Each resource center will provide not only a safe, warm place to sleep, but a wide range of supportive services including housing assistance, employment training, life skills, food, medical care, storage, counseling, and connections to long-term community support. Centers will be served by a mobile medical clinic, and clients will have on-site access to a nurse manager.
The resource centers are modeled to support eight primary impact areas that are part of a comprehensive strategy to minimize homelessness including: housing, wellness, employment, education, safety, legal rights, community engagement, and positive social support.
“These resource centers offer a new and innovative approach to provide the help that those who are down on their luck need with life changing services,” Miller said.
Prior to today, the name of only one of the three new facilities, the Geraldine E. King Resource Center, had been announced.
For more information on the resource center model and transition timeline, or to make a donation to the Home4Change campaign, please visit home4change.org.
