Dear Friends,

Thank you so much to everyone who showed up to support Crossroads Urban Center at the Bayou yesterday Our supporters are the reason we are able to serve 13,000 people per month at our two food pantries. If you were unable to attend the fundraiser but would like to donate to Crossroads Urban Center please consider donating through the Utah Gives event that is happening this week. Our partners at First Utah Bank have agreed to match up to $10,000 in donations for this campaign and so this week is a good time to donate.

Right now we are in a time when open racism and xenophobia are becoming a major problem in Utah. Examples of this growing problem can be seen in these reactions on social media to the news that a second generation immigrant, who was born and raised in Utah, had defeated white candidates at yesterday's state Democratic Convention.

There are other posts on X, and other platforms, that are significantly more racist than these that I did not feel comfortable sharing. The people making these types of statements feel they represent a hidden majority of the people in Utah and they are wrong. In this kind of moment, it is important for people who disagree to do so publicly.

That is why I am sharing with you this statement of values that is being circulated by organizations we worked with to oppose the creation of a detention center for homeless people a few months ago.

This values statement relates to the creation of a giant ICE detention center in Salt Lake City. It is a strong statement that reflects moral, environmental and practical concerns with the detention center proposal. I think it is worth reading and signing. I am curious what the people who receive this email think. Is it a good statement?

As it happens, this week the Utah Housing Coalition is hosting a webinar about a new study about the detention center for homeless people we opposed during the state legislative session. A one page summary of the new study can be found here. I am very excited to see the authors of the study explain their findings in more detail during the webinar, which takes place on Wednesday at noon on Zoom.

I hope you have a great week!

Bill Tibbitts, Director

FACE Hunger and Homelessness