On August 16, UAPA held their 12th Annual Golf Classic tournament at Soldier Hollow Golf Course. Each year at this event, UAPA raises money for their scholarship program and for charity. This year’s president, Bup Minardi, chose to support The Rescue Mission of Salt Lake, a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the homeless population in Utah. UAPA members raised a total of $5,450 between the two sold-out golf courses to support this worthy cause.

Bup has personally been involved with the Rescue Mission for about 15 years. He is very passionate about helping those in need find a way to get on a better road. “Homelessness is something that is often misunderstood in this state,” Bup said. “You have people who, yes, have made bad choices, and they are where they are. And in all reality, being homeless is probably the best place for them to be at that time because they need to hit a point where they say ‘enough is enough.’” He went on to share, “There are also many who are generational in homelessness. Their great-grandparents were homeless, as were their parents, and they, themselves, were born into homelessness, and they just don’t know another way. And still, others have been through a very major event, circumstance or hardship in their life that they had no control over, and it totally devastated them. Unfortunately, this causes too many to turn to drugs and/or alcohol, and they secretly pray to God they fall asleep and don’t wake up, which in some cases they do.” This is a harsh reality that cannot be ignored. So, for us as an organization made up of multiple private, public, and governmental entities that help build better roads, we believe building better lives is our number one priority.

During the golf tournament, Bup and Chris Croswhite, Executive Director of the Rescue Mission, sat at one of the holes on the course. As the golfers came up, they took the opportunity to introduce themselves and shake hands. Then Chris gave each group of golfers an idea of what the Rescue Mission is all about and the help they provide for our homeless population. The same thing happened on the other course. Victor Johnson, UAPA President-Elect and Dennis Dickerson from the Rescue Mission took the opportunity to educate the golfers. UAPA members had a unique opportunity to learn about the plight and the needs of our homeless friends and, if they chose, get more information on how to help.

To understand the gravity of the current homeless situation, one only has to look at the numbers. In 2022, a greater number of Utahns experienced homelessness compared to previous years. Data from the Utah Homeless Management Information System (UHMIS) showed a 10% increase in the number of individuals experiencing homelessness for the first time and a 5% increase among those who have experienced homelessness multiple times accessing services during the reporting period. The 2023 Point in Time Count (PIT) also confirmed this rise, with 10.9 out of every 10,000 Utahns identified as experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. While the exact underlying causes of these increases are not fully understood, it is likely that factors such as rising living costs and the lack of accessible and affordable housing contribute to the difficulty Utahns face in both preventing and exiting homelessness.

This is where The Rescue Mission of Salt Lake steps in. “The Rescue Mission is a private, faith-based homeless and service provider that is 100% privately funded,” said Chris. “The blessing and the privilege of being privately funded is that we don’t have to change our programs to meet the desires of what the government wants to fund. We don’t have to start and stop programs, especially if the program is successful; we can simply evaluate programs and keep the ones that are successful, then reinvent the ones that are not. The heart of the Rescue Mission is our New Life Program. Its goal is to restore lives and end homelessness,” said Chris. This program has three phases: Phase One-Stabilization/Application, Phase Two-Education and Phase Three-Implementation, Employment, Housing, and Support. This process can take anywhere from 12-18 months. But the support does not stop there. After an individual graduates from this program, there are options for them to continue to meet with staff counselors and community mentors. In fact, many graduates stay in touch for years to share their successes and inspire others who are currently facing homelessness. The New Life Program lives up to its name — providing a hand-up as opposed to a hand-out