ST. GEORGE — Members of the St. George City Council as well as other city officials took a tour of the homeless shelter at Switchpoint Community Resources Center with their eyes looking toward expansion.
Switchpoint Executive Director Carol Hollowell conducted the tour Thursday afternoon at the facility, located at 948 N. 1300 West in St. George.
She guided the group through the shelter and walked the grounds to point out where expansion is needed most.
“I really wanted the council to get a feel of the space that we have existing and why we need an expansion,” Hollowell told St. George News. “If we can show them how much space is utilized, then I think that they can see why we need to build on.”
The shelter is at maximum capacity right now, as is usually the case throughout the year, with all 84 beds occupied.
Walking through the facility, built in the mid-1980’s with architecture resembling something that looks like it was transplanted from Eastern Europe during the Cold War, Hollowell joked, “We have the ugliest shelter in the state. But we get things done.”
“Our building is well used,” she added. “Well-loved and used. It’s got its own issues, like any 40-year-old building. It needs some rehab.”
The hallways are narrow. The doors are wooden and the carpet is drab. The kitchen is the size of a closet – a “three butt kitchen,” Hollowell said with a laugh, and there’s no room in the shelter for overflow.
Along with urgent upgrades to the facility, the shelter needs more room so men can be separated from women and so some of that closed-in feeling can be eased.
Since it opened in 2014, Switchpoint has been in a state of constant expansion as the number of homeless people in St. George has steadily grown.
“Switchpoint has added on continually every year services that we see as a gap, whether that’s added micro-enterprises like our thrift store across the street,” Hollowell said, “or whether that’s added housing like Riverwalk over on the east side of town or our child care center that’s going to open this spring.”
“If there’s a gap that’s hindering our clients as a barrier to helping them get out of poverty or homelessness, we’re going to figure out how to solve that,” she added.
Switchpoint is working with the city of St. George to apply for grant funds that are immediately available through the Home Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan Program, a federal program that provides funding to reduce homelessness and increase housing stability across the country.
“The grant we’re seeking is approximately four and a half million dollars,” Hollowell said. “So that’s federal – it doesn’t come out of the city’s budget. That would be a great use of the money that is supposed to be utilized for construction or expansion of homeless services or affordable housing. This would meet that criteria.”
She added that the money would go a long way toward a significant expansion and upgrade of the facility and its grounds.
If Switchpoint is awarded the grant and expands as hoped, the shelter will add 60 more beds for a total of 144. Further, separation of men’s and women’s areas will be possible and a new kitchen dining area will serve as an emergency overflow room where cots could be set up.
St. George Mayor Michele Randall attended Thursday’s meeting remotely while four members of the City Council took the tour. Council member Danielle Larkin shared her impressions with St. George News.
“I’ve actually been here a lot of times before,” Larkin said. “But I always enjoy taking the tour because our shelter is run so much more efficiently, so much better, than any shelter in the state. It’s always an impressive tour.”
Larkin added that it’s exciting to see that valued residents of St. George who need services are able to get help with seeking employment, mental health counseling, medical assistance and medication.
“Anything that they need, temporary housing or long-term housing, all of those services are available,” she said. “They have classes that teach life skills, and their mentorship program Circles helps clients get access to social capital.”
“I’m actually amazed every time I come here,” she said. “They’ve always added one more thing. It’s just an amazing program.”
Since the city of St. George owns the land and the building at Switchpoint, the council must give its approval to apply for the grant. That matter will be taken up at the next meeting of the council.
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