My Journey

Here is my story in a nutshell. It all began in Oregon 7 years ago when one of my own sons was homeless and facing some difficult challenges that included addiction and mental health issues (the same things that most people on the streets struggle with). Fortunately he is housed, employed, and doing well with his sobriety because of a kind, compassionate, and caring outreach in Wilsonville, Oregon. Such a wonderful & inspired program that literally saved my son’s life and many others like him. You can’t put a price on something like that nor thank them enough. The cycle of life is real—the more I help people down here, the more people help him up there and vice-versa. *My son also credits his success to finding the Lord, which in turn, helped him find himself. He is an avid preacher of righteousness and understands the myriad of challenges facing those on the street. He has counseled me and taught me important truths I needed to learn that are factoring into my current efforts. He volunteers his time to visit the downtrodden in Portland, Oregon on occasion because he knows a handshake, kind words, and a listening ear means so much to those who are constantly ignored by the public and have no voice or friends. Earlier this year, he helped me distribute pizza during one outreach when he was in town.

When I moved to Utah in 2022—and going through some difficult challenges myself—I realized something was missing. It wasn’t until March of 2025 that a classmate, Cherice Gull (seen below in the red shirt & glasses), invited me to join her outreach called “2%”(which focuses on helping those with drug addiction). She invited me to serve lunch to a group of homeless people at Pioneer Park in downtown Salt Lake City. That day changed my life in fundamental ways. For the first time in my life, I saw what real homelessness looks like up close. That same day, we delivered extra lunches to the “blue bus” run by Kelly Henry and her “Nomad Alliance.” What a saint! She lives in Idaho but travels here once a month to gather clothing and distribute them. For that brief moment on the bus, time stopped, and my head & heart where stamped by heaven telling me that “these were my people going forward., and this is my mission.” It was an undeniable revelation that changed my focus and life-trajectory.

Before I had my “bus-experience,” I had decided to go back to school to get another degree, but this time, in Substance Use Disorder Counseling (SUDC) instead of Education. I wanted to understand addiction more fully, and subsequently enrolled in the premier program in the state under Dr. Rich Hydo at Salt Lake Community College so I could help my homeless son with his problem. As the semester progressed, I quickly realized how dire (and desperate) addiction becomes to a person physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, and economically. It is devasting in every way. With my undergraduate degree in psychology and graduate degrees in Education—and having taught seminary for 28 years in Oregon—coupled with my own family’s experience with addiction, mental health, and homelessness—one more piece of the divine puzzle was being put in place with this degree. All roads were beginning to converge in most unique way. Add personal loss and health challenges myself, I was becoming more conversant with Job in the Old Testament and understanding more fully the value of the Savior’s life, teachings, and depth of compassion and understanding he has towards those who suffer and lose everything. He truly understands and guides us even when we feel his presence the least. Using a medical metaphor—just because you can’t feel what the chemotherapy or dialysis is doing in the moment doesn’t mean it is not working in the background creating change.

Fast-forward to May 2025 when I was sitting at another park in Salt Lake (Liberty Park) and a handsome young man named, Tye (Taylor), walked up and asked what I was reading. He too was homeless and had been on the streets for about 3 years. He had been raised in foster care and spent a couple of years in juvenile detention. His real mother cooks meth and is a drug dealer. His story was both painful and intriguing. The book I was reading—ironically—was called “How To Know A Person” by David Brooks. We spent 20 minutes ‘getting to know each other’ and I offered to take him to lunch at Chuck-A-Rama. We had an amazing experience becoming acquainted and he remains a dear friend who texts me every week to see how I am doing. We have had several outings together that included a number of his friends that have since become friends of mine as well.

Around that same time, I met Nola & Brandie (yellow sunglasses and hat below) who spent hours educating me on street life and the drug culture that exists in Salt Lake. They have been a key source of information for me as I developed this outreach. They have been on the streets for over 16 years and their story is tragic in every way. (Later in the videos section, you’ll see the puppy that I gave Brandie after her puppy was stolen the night before—her reaction is adorable).

Next, I met “Cowboy Kevin” (bald black guy) whose story is also tragic. “Cowboy” carries significant clout on the streets and has introduced me to some very interesting people as you might imagine. He took me to a drug camp and let me see things for myself. I had no idea—nor do most people outside that culture—understand what life in that arena is like (you can hear his interview on the Interviews page). I have since come to see that drug use is primarily a coping mechanism for unresolved trauma. The “high” is nice, but the intention is to blunt thinking and feeling for as long as they can for as cheap as they can. They don’t have access to mental health medications or trauma therapists so they turn to the cheapest medicating options available to them on the streets which is akin to playing “Russian-roulette” every time they indulge because of the substances that are being put into these drugs. For the homeless, the paradox is circular—take drugs to avoid feeling, but every time you do, you feel worse and gamble with your life. As you will come to see in this outreach, there are multiple factors in play, and for the public (and politicians) to dismissively point the finger at them and say “just stop taking drugs and get a job and be productive like the rest of us” is both shortsighted and naive. If most could, they would, but since they don’t, it is because they simply can’t. This website lays out the reasons for their ongoing struggle and what the public and politicians need to know AND how they can help to effect change. *Hint: A major part of the solution lies in simple kindness—a listening ear, gentle words of encouragement, a fist bump, sincere engagement, and asking the right questions with an intent to understand and then do something with that information. We all fear what we don’t understand, and homelessness is perhaps the most misunderstood phenomenon of all because it encompasses everything that is evil, repugnant, and offensive to the senses. Through my interviews, outreaches, and ongoing conversations, I have come to see beauty beneath the ashes and now raise a clarion call to help gather Israel ‘out of the dust’ and bring them to the table of life (see 1 Nephi 22:6).

Finally, I met Rene Shaw who runs the “Showers For Hope” organization that provides free mobile showers around town. Like Kelly, she too is a saint who spends her time and personal resources to help those who need it the most. I have come to see that service-minded people gravitate towards each other and share a unique bond of fellowship because of their common goals and vision. So many wonderful people doing wonderful things to bless lives. It truly does “take a village” to raise a homeless village.

Let me rework an important scriptural truth found in the Doctrine & Covenants: “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; And if it so be that you should labor all your days in [serving and saving them], how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father. And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have [served & saved], how great will be your joy if you should [serve & save] many souls…!” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10, 15–16)