With Help from AARP, Switchpoint Builds Hope for Utah’s Aging Homeless

Salt Lake City — From the outside, it appears to be an average building. But step inside Switchpoint Fairpark and you’re greeted with a warm welcome and smiles from everyone you meet.

The building opened on North Temple in 2023 near the Salt Lake City Airport. It was a previously shuttered hotel that Switchpoint, a nonprofit organization, purchased and turned into deeply affordable studio apartments for seniors and veterans.

Carol Hollowell, Founder and CEO of Switchpoint, says their goal is to empower those in need by addressing the underlying causes of poverty and providing a comprehensive plan to support their journey toward self-sufficiency.

“We must solve our ‘graying’ homeless population, and nationwide, it has climbed 57%. It just shouldn’t happen; that should not be our fastest-growing homeless population. How do we stop it? How do we fix it? How do I find more money to keep building these? I have 400+ people on waiting lists,” Hollowell said.

Thanks to a recent AARP Community Challenge Grant, Switchpoint Fairpark was able to put the finishing touches on a major renovation – transforming the old hotel swimming pool into a recreation room while also adding a second floor.

The AARP Community Challenge Grant that Switchpoint received was just one piece of the overall project cost, but Hollowell says every donation or grant makes a difference.

“Every donation we receive, whether it’s from Lowe’s or AARP, makes the difference between getting a new van and adding an oven in the community room or fridge space,” said Hollowell. “The little donations stack up to fill in the gap funding, and whether the donation is $10,000, $15,000, or $20,0000, every time we get one, it helps us finish a project.”

The AARP Community Challenge Grants help fund innovative, quick-action projects that spark change and build momentum for improved public places, community engagement, housing options and transport services. The grant is designed to help towns, cities, and neighborhoods become more livable for people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

“My goal is to have 1,000 units in Salt Lake in the next two years; that’s a big, hairy, audacious goal right there," Hollowell said. "But I would like to be able to say - we ended senior homelessness for the low-income seniors. And we did that by creating something that is not going to have rent increases beyond what their Social Security or Veteran Pension brings in.”

Watch the KSL-TV Segment on the Switchpoint Project

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