TWENTY-FIRST PEOPLE'S SUMMIT ON POVERTY
sponsored by Crossroads Urban Center
 Saturday, August 29, 2026
 St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Dean’s Hall, 231 E. 100 South, Salt Lake City 
 
 
I.      Registration (Coffee, Juice, Bagels, etc.)                                                                        8:30 AM 
 
 
II.    Introductions and Greeting:  Glenn Bailey, Crossroads Urban Center     9:00 AM 
 
 
III.     Speaker:  The Rev. Canon Libby Hunter, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church        9:10 AM          
 
 
IV.     Unraveling the Safety Net                                                                                                      9:25 AM
            Moderator:       Neil Rickard, Utahns Against Hunger
            Panelists:        Brigham Andrew, Utah Department of Health and Human Services
            Alexis Rodriguez, Utah Dept. of Workforce Services
             Bill Tibbitts, Crossroads Urban Center
 
                                    
                             Break*** Break *** Break *** Break *** Break                                         10:15 AM
 
 
V.        Speaker:  Rev. Kelsie Parrish,  First United Methodist Church                   10:25 AM
 
 
VI.      Fighting Homelessness in Utah                                                                                       10:40 AM       
             Moderator:        Brian Diggs, Family Promise Utah
              Panelists:       Tyler Clancy, Utah State Homeless Coordinator
              Andrew Johnston, Salt Lake City Director of  Homeless Policy and Outreach
               Katherine Fife, Salt Lake County Associate Mayor
 
 
VII.      Joe Duke-Rosati “Hellraiser” Award Presentation to                                         11:30 AM
                                    Jerry Schmidt and Deeda Seed
                                                            
 
VIII.    Announcements of Coming Events & Campaigns, etc.                                         11:50 AM
 
 
IX.       Lunch                                                                                                                                                       12:00 PM

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On the evening of September 24, 2026, a celebration of Crossroads Urban Center's 60 year anniversary will be taking place at Caputo's Market and Deli.
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Join us for refreshments and community as we look back on Crossroads' 60-year legacy and celebrate the people who make this work possible!

Since 1966, Crossroads Urban Center has worked to support low-income families, fight poverty, and build a stronger community here in Utah. Come enjoy refreshments, connect with fellow community members, and help us honor this year's Volunteer Award recipients.

There are many big and small changes being made to homeless services in Utah.  A panel discussion at Crossroads Urban Center's annual Poverty Summit will include leading experts and policymakers in our state and focus on efforts to improve services and outcomes for people with serious mental illness, seniors and families with children.  The panel will be moderated by Brian Diggs, for Family Promise Utah and will feature three panelists:

1. Tyler Clancy, Utah State Homeless Coordinator,
2. Andrew Johnston, Salt Lake City Director of Homeless Policy and Outreach, and 
3. Katherine Fife, Salt Lake County Associate Mayor

The Poverty Summit is free and open to the public and will take place at the Cathedral Church of St, Mark, located at 231 East, 100 South in Salt Lake City.  It will begin 9:00 AM and end with lunch at noon.  The panel discussion on homeless services will begin at 10:40 AM.

Here are a few articles that can help prepare for this discussion:

• Fox 13:  Why Utah's Department of Corrections is being asked to help the homeless
  
• Utah News Dispatch:  Utah sees slight decline in homelessness — a first in years
• Fox 13:  Older adults are being discharged out of long-term care facilities — and into homelessness
  
• Shelterforce:  FOR OLDER RENTERS, THE HOUSING CRISIS COMES WITH HIGHER STAKES
  
• KFF:  Five Key Facts About People Experiencing Homelessness

A panel discussion about the impact of SNAP and Medicaid work requirements on low income Utahns will be featured at Crossroads Urban Center's annual Poverty Summit on the morning of August 29, 2026 at the Cathedral Church of St, Mark.  This topic is very timely because we are beginning to have data on how many families have been cut from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program since work requirements were expanded in October of last year and Utah is preparing to add work requirements to Medicaid.  These work, or "participation", requirements were added to Medicaid and SNAP in the major budget reconciliation bill signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025.

The moderator for this panel will be Neil Rickard from Utahns Against Hunger.  Panelists will include Birgham Andrew from Utah's Department of Health and Human Services, Alexis Rodrigues from Utah's Department of Workforce Services and Bill Tibbitts form Crossroads Urban Center.  The Summit is free and open to the public.  It will begin at 9:00 AM and end with lunch at noon.  The panel discussion about the impact of SNAP and Medicaid work requirements is scheduled to begin at 9:25 AM.

This panel may be of particular interest to nonprofit organizations that are interested in creating volunteer opportunities to help low income people fulfill the participation requirements and maintain eligibility for SNAP and/or Medicaid.  People are able to satisfy the participation requirements through training, employment or volunteer hours-- or a combination of all three.  It is possible that some people who miss one or two shifts at work in a specific month may need volunteer hours to maintain eligibility.  

Here are few articles about this topic you can read before attending the summit to help you prepare for the conversation:
Utah News Dispatch:  New federal Medicaid rule threatens more coverage on top of Congress’ cuts, Utah advocates say
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:  SNAP Tracker: People Are Losing Food Assistance as the Harmful 2025 Republican Reconciliation Law Is Implemented
KFF:  Medicaid Work Requirements: Federal Outreach Requirements and State Plans
Axios:  Medicaid's work requirement crunch arrives

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the Trump Administration's leader on homeless policy, Robert Marbut, will be giving a speech in the Grand America Hotel as part of a conference that begins at noon.  A protest will be taking place beginning at 11:30 AM, before the conference begins, on the sidewalk outside the hotel to draw attention to extreme ideas and policies that have been promoted by  Robert Marbut and the Trump Administration.

Marbut served as the Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness during the first Trump administration and is currently a senior policy analyst at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.  However, Marbut has been a controversial figure in homeless policy discussion for far longer than that, as can be seen in these news articles and other documents:

• National Low Income Housing Coalition:  "Correcting the Record on Robert Marbut's False Claims on Homelessness"  (1/31/2020)
• Salt Lake Tribune:  "Trump’s top homelessness official has a controversial past in Utah" (1/14/2020)
• Los Angeles Times:  "He wanted to ban feeding homeless people. Now he’s about to lead a federal homeless agency"  (12/4/2019)
• NPR:  "Consultant On Homelessness: Cities Enable The Poor" (11/4/2014)

In his current role Marbut visits locations around the country to explain the Trump Administration's policies on homelessness.   Those policies include proposals to force homeless people into camps and   massive cuts to funding for federal housing assistance programs:

• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:  "Nearly 3.7 Million People at Risk of Losing Needed Rental Assistance to Harsh Time Limit and Work Requirement Proposal" (April 24, 2026)
• ProPublica:  Millions could lose housing  aid under Trump plan"  (9/29/2025)
• National Low Income Housing Coalition:  "President Trump Releases FY27 Budget Request Proposing Significant Cuts to HUD Programs, and Work Requirements and Time Limits on Assisted Households" (4/6/2026)
•  National Alliance to End Homelessness:  "Understanding Trump’s Executive Order on Homelessness: A Return to Forced Institutionalization"  (8/6/2025)

Protest organizers were involved with efforts to block the construction of massive detention center for homeless people in Salt Lake City and suspect that Marbut is the federal official who encouraged Utah officials to consider building such a center.  "Robert Marbut has been pushing Utah to build a giant homeless campus, and then use the police to force everyone inside, for over a decade," says Crossroads Urban Center's Executive Director, Glenn Bailey.   "Criminalizing homelessness does not work.  Only housing can end homelessness."