Pamela’s Place: affordable housing for the homeless is open

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah– Pamela’s Place is finally open. Pamela Atkinson dedicates her life to helping the homeless. In founding the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Trust Fund to assist the homeless with meals, medical care, and job search assistance, Atkinson created an environment where those in need could seek support.

Her dedication to helping end homelessness in Utah led to the opening of Pamela’s Place, located at 525 S. 500 West, Tuesday afternoon. The Housing Authority of Salt Lake City hosted a ribbon-cutting event on Tuesday to celebrate Pamela’s achievement. 

Humbled to be a part of the impactful movement that Pamela Atkinson is making happen in our state.

“Just as Pamela has dedicated her life, Pamela’s Place will treat everyone that comes through these doors with dignity, respect, and a belief that home is where one starts from.” pic.twitter.com/tOT0MrT4yi

— Wadman Corporation (@WadmanCorp) September 15, 2020

Pamela’s Place is a brand new building which broke ground less than two years ago.

“This really isn’t about me,” she said. “I just want to focus for a little bit on the people who are going to be living here, the people for whom this building came to fruition. And that’s our homeless friends and our low-income friends,”Atkinson told the Deseret News. 

The nonprofit Housing Authority of Salt Lake City will be offering 100 small apartments at a low cost specifically for the homeless. Units in Pamela’s place, a $13.6 million housing complex, give chronically homeless and disabled individuals access to stable living conditions. 

Additionally, Pamela’s Place offers case managers, a rare 24-hour health clinic, community spaces, a kitchen, garden, and pet-care areas. The staff of the facility will be available to assist tenants 24/7.

“That’s the beauty of this center, the vision of Pamela, that we will be able to provide the support necessary,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson in her speech at the ceremony.

“We continue to be in a journey with homelessness,” she added. “It is an evolving need, as was mentioned. What we do know is that permanent supportive housing is very, very much a priority and key to self-sufficiency and success of our homeless population.”

With the extensive access to facilities, Atkinson hopes to not only alleviate the homeless off the streets but to address why they are homeless as well.