SALT LAKE CITY -- Jared Legge, of South Ogden, never thought he would be homeless, let alone speaking before a group about how he got there and where he is at now.
Legge, 32, grew up in the Ogden area. He lost his job, his car and his home after heading down a path of "self-medication with meth."
His drug abuse began after several back surgeries.
"Everything spiraled out of control by me being just dumb," said Legge, dressed in a suit and tie.
He was among the speakers at the Utah's Seventh Annual Homeless Summit held in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
Legge was one of more than 15,600 individuals that were considered homeless this year in Utah.
He ended up at St. Anne's Center in Ogden in May and has since been placed in permanent housing. In exchange for the rent, he works for the shelter and a care program with Ogden Housing Authority.
"If you told me five years ago I would be homeless, I would've thought you were crazy," Legge said.
Legge is trying to get his life back.
According to the state's 2010 Comprehensive Report on Homelessness, released at Wednesday's conference, a quarter of the homeless adult population are abusing illegal substances. A fifth of the homeless adult population have a mental illness.
Roxanne Hopland, 41, of Ogden, also found herself and her two small children on the streets because of her meth addiction.
Now she volunteers seven days a week at St. Anne's Center and also has an apartment. She is getting treatment for her depression and other mental illnesses.
She too never thought she would end up on the streets.
Hopland said she moved to Ogden in 2000 from California after her mother passed away. After giving birth to a girl and a boy, Hopland said she wanted to give her children a better life.
"No one wants to be in a shelter," Hopland said. "No one wants to be homeless."
Matt Minkevitch, executive director with The Road Home in Midvale, said those helping the homeless are seeing more families due to the economy.
Of those who are homeless statewide, 43 percent are people in families, which is the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.
Almost 12,000 school-aged children statewide are considered homeless, according to the State Office of Education.
"This is the highest concentration of homeless school children observed in the past five years," according to the report.
Minkevitch said he sees more families seeking shelter. Nightly, he watches parents patiently help their children with homework assignments, while sitting on cots.
The families come in all sizes with children ranging in age from "newborns to gangling teenagers," Minkevitch said.
The majority of parents never thought they would find themselves in a shelter, let alone bringing their children to one.
"They're great parents," Minkevitch said. "I learn so much more from them about patience, perseverance, hopefulness."
Jason Wilde, executive director with the Family Connection Center in Layton, said he also is seeing more families seeking housing assistance or shelter.
Unfortunately, Davis County does not have a shelter, "so we are turning away families."
His organization is not the only one turning away families in Davis County and sending them to either Salt Lake or Weber counties.
Wilde and Minkevitch said the reason so many more families are finding themselves on the streets is because of the poor economy.
Hopland said she knows it is difficult to find a place to live when one is living on the streets, but "I want others to know there is hope. There is help."
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