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- First Step House
First Step House
First Step House pairs housing with healthcare so Utahns can recover from addiction, homelessness, and serious mental illness.
Salt Lake County faces a severe shortage of deeply affordable housing for people facing homelessness alongside serious behavioral health conditions. Without stable housing and support, many cycle between the street, emergency rooms, jails, and detox. FSH breaks that cycle: we own and develop the housing and deliver the healthcare and recovery services inside it, one integrated system rather than a referral chain between agencies. A resident's case manager, medical clinic, peer support, and employment coach all sit within FSH. That lets us serve people with the most complex needs, the ones routinely turned away elsewhere.
Founded in 1958, FSH serves more than 1,700 people a year across 15 sites, all in service of one mission: to help people build lives of meaning, purpose, and recovery.
Salt Lake County faces a severe shortage of deeply affordable housing for people facing homelessness alongside serious behavioral health conditions. Without stable housing and support, many cycle between the street, emergency rooms, jails, and detox. FSH breaks that cycle: we own and develop the housing and deliver the healthcare and recovery services inside it, one integrated system rather than a referral chain between agencies. A resident's case manager, medical clinic, peer support, and employment coach all sit within FSH. That lets us serve people with the most complex needs, the ones routinely turned away elsewhere.
Founded in 1958, FSH serves more than 1,700 people a year across 15 sites, all in service of one mission: to help people build lives of meaning, purpose, and recovery.
Purpose
We envision a community where recovery is the norm, not the exception, and where homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring. Getting there means a coordinated system that treats healthcare, housing, and long-term support as one, so fewer people cycle through jails and emergency rooms and fewer lives are lost to preventable causes. It also means being an employer worth working for, investing in the people who make this work possible.
Vision
By 2030, First Step House will triple access to permanent supportive housing, expand healthcare beyond clinic walls, and ensure people with the most complex needs don’t fall through the cracks.
This vision goes beyond buildings. It’s about creating stability, delivering integrated care, and supporting recovery for the long term — especially for people who have been left out of traditional systems.
(1) More homes for people experiencing chronic homelessness
(2) Expanded healthcare, including primary care and community-based treatment
(3) Wraparound support that helps people stay housed, connected, and well
We’re building a future where recovery is healthcare — and housing makes it possible.
This vision goes beyond buildings. It’s about creating stability, delivering integrated care, and supporting recovery for the long term — especially for people who have been left out of traditional systems.
(1) More homes for people experiencing chronic homelessness
(2) Expanded healthcare, including primary care and community-based treatment
(3) Wraparound support that helps people stay housed, connected, and well
We’re building a future where recovery is healthcare — and housing makes it possible.
Mission
We help people build lives of meaning, purpose, and recovery.
Additional Culture Details
We invest in how our people work together, not just what they deliver. Every employee receives Arbinger Institute training and ongoing coaching. The idea behind it is simple: how we treat each other shapes the care our clients receive.
Values
- Integrity
- We do what we say we will do, and we hold ourselves accountable.
Recent Awards
Company Snapshots
