(upbeat music) - Volunteers of America, Utah, is one of the largest organizations in Salt Lake Valley providing critical support to some of the most vulnerable community members.

Our guest today, A.J.

Nielsen, is here to tell us more.

Hi, A.J.

Thank you so much for being here.

Let's start by telling us about Volunteers of America.

- Yes, thank you.

Thanks for having me so I can share a little bit more.

I feel like a lot of people have heard of Volunteers of America, but there can be some confusion.

So here at Volunteers of America, Utah, we are one of the largest human services organizations in Salt Lake Valley.

And our focus is on serving those who are experiencing homelessness.

We've got a youth shelter and a women's shelter.

We also help those who are struggling with addiction, providing support on their path to recovery.

As well as a plethora of mental health support as well, we've got several counseling centers.

- Oh, great.

So what are some of the specific programs you have?

I mean, you do a lot, obviously.

- Yeah, again, I really could talk about it all day long because we offer so much.

It's so multifaceted, you know?

Each person's needs are unique.

And so, we have over 360 paid staff members.

And, you know, everyone shows up every day to just meet these folks where they're at, and build that trust and help them find those paths back to themselves.

And so, that includes, right, shelter and housing opportunities.

We've got peer support specialists all in there to help with the really difficult journeys through addiction.

And several programs to fill in those other gaps, you know?

Helping folks find the right job for them for exactly where they're at.

Or even really in depth programs, like our PREP program, which helps with early prevention of psychosis.

They work with kids 16 to 26 years old.

And we just, there's so many layers to it.

And essentially it's, we look at, what gaps can we fill?

How can we connect them to themselves and take down these barriers, you know, these costs?

- Yeah.

- And all the difficulties.

- What an amazing service, wow.

Wide ranging.

Anyway, thank you so much for what you do and thanks for being here.

- Yeah, my pleasure.

- All right.

And if you'd like to know more about Volunteers of America, Utah, and all the things you can do, they have specific things you can do to help out, go to voaut.org, voaut.org.

I'm Mary Dickson, thanks for watching "Contact."

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It's what brings us together.

Hi, I'm Mary Dickson.

Here on Contact, we introduce you to local events and organizations that serve your neighborhood.

If you work for a nonprofit and would like to appear on our show, please visit pbsutah.org/contact.