PROVO, Utah — A couple of dozen Utah County residents spent a long night immersing themselves in the experience of homelessness Friday night.
Community Action Services and Food Bank (CASFB) in Provo hosted a unique event called‘Come to the Table,’ inviting the public to walk with them and learn what it’s like to live as a vulnerable member of this community.
“These will be different scenarios based on real people,” said Holly Johnson, who helped coordinate the event.
Each attendee got a profile that matches a situation that someone in Utah County has lived through or is living through right now.
For example, ours featured a 38-year-old man named Frank. His monthly income is $1120, and his profile reads: “Frank served honorably in the armed forces, but he experiences ptsd from his time in service. He is on a waiting list for veteran housing and accessing services. But he’s worried that if he gets additional income, it may put him over the limit on qualifying for help. He works full-time and struggles to meet with his therapist due to his work schedule.”
With those personal histories and our own packs to carry, we were brought on a guided walk amid the 90-degree heat of the late afternoon.
“It gives us a chance to go through what they’re going through - see it with our own eyes,” said Brian Harris, who lives in Provo.
It also gave attendees a chance to learn about all the local resources here in the community - going from Community Action to the Food and Care Coalition to the Genesis Project.
Kena Mathews with CASFB says their 2025 ‘Point in Time Count’ identified 235 homeless individuals, which marked a 34 percent year-over-year increase in Utah County.
Utah County Commissioner Skyler Beltran, who also spoke at the event, told Fox 13 News they’ve actually seen a reduction in people experiencing chronic homelessness. So he says those figures are being lifted by those who find themselves temporarily displaced.
But county and community leaders both acknowledge the concerns with rising costs and a lack of affordable housing within the county.
So Mathews hopes people use this experience to help take part in solving the problem.
“Homeless people have to experience a lot of things that maybe you and I don't,” said Mathews. “We get to go home at night. We lay down, we get to take a shower.”
“It is a really eye-opening experience,” Mathews continued, speaking about ‘Come to the Table’. “They’re just people who are in need of love and encouragement and so if you can learn about these people - learn that they’re just people - I think that’s a really good education piece, your compassion may change.”
The group ended the night by returning to the profiles they were given. They walked a mile and a half to the Provo Community Congregational United Church of Christ for an activity that looked at each scenario and asked three important questions: Where do we go during the day? How do we get around (transportation)? What belongings can we take with us?
Attendees noted that those are three questions most of us don't have to think about on a day-to-day basis, which is eye-opening in itself.
