Salt Lake County's Most Vulnerable Populations Program
Are you looking to make a difference in your community? Salt Lake County's Most Vulnerable Populations AmeriCorps Program focuses on reducing systematic inequities.
Our members help bridge the gap and reduce barriers for a variety of vulnerable populations including but not limited to; youth, individuals experiencing homelessness, and those involved in the Criminal Justice System.
AmeriCorps is a voluntary civil society program supported by the U.S. federal government, foundations, corporations, and other donors by engaging adults in public service work, with a goal of helping others and meeting critical needs in the community. "The program is often seen as the domestic Peace Corps."
Members commit to 12- and 6-month Terms of Service.
AmeriCorps Members are placed in community agencies to serve individuals and families by assisting in activities such as housing placement, job placement, system navigation, healthcare liaisons, volunteer recruitment, and more.
Resources
Application Notice
Application Submission Resources
Additional Resources
Riley Trepiner
Host-Site: The Road Home
Fun Fact: Riley is an award winning amateur playwright
AmeriCorps is founded on the idea of service. For Martin Luther King Day AmeriCorps members nationwide came together to provide service to their communities. Our program focused service with the annual Point-In-Time Count. This was a place for volunteers to interact with those experiencing unsheltered homelessness, collect data, and provide basic resources.
Riley exemplified what it means to be an AmeriCorps member and impressed all those he met with his positive attitude, trauma informed approach and openness to really connect with those he interviewed. “I got to work with and learn from people with different points of view and experiences. I learned a lot from both the people I served with and the people we were serving.”
Riley fostered his connections by listening and hearing what people had to say: One of the most memorable things was being reminded how one of the ways we connect most strongly is by sharing our stories, and the best way we can do that is by listening. If someone were to come do PIT and just list off the questions, sure, they'd get demographic info and it would help the survey, but they would lose that connection with the people. Using the questions as a way to have a conversation and connect with people who are often ignored and mistreated is a basic way to extend human goodness.
Riley defines service through a quote by Lila Watson, an Aboriginal Australian activist: "If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you recognize that your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us walk together."
Please contact AmeriCorps Program Coordinator with any questions: Nicole Bernard.
Contact
Nicole Bernard
AmeriCorps Program Coordinator
Phone: 385-468-7145
Email: nbernard@slco.org
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Homeless Services
2001 S State St N4-930
PO Box 144575
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4575
