The first piece of advice he got was Don't take off your shoes." The second, "Don't go to the bathroom after dark." Though Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams heeded both, it didn't make him feel any less vulnerable ... as he settled in for a night at the downtown Road Home homeless shelter. He'd visited the grim neighborhood before. He'd read about ... the homeless people unable to access welfare services. Experiencing it firsthand was different. "That was shocking to me." McAdams' stay at The Road Home - what he describes as a fact-finding mission - was part of three days and two nights he spent posing as a homeless person to gather information before recommending a new shelter location. During his three days experiencing life on the streets, McAdams said his time was consumed by solving two pressing needs: Where am I going to sleep? And where am I going to get food? "You have to plan your day around that," he said, realizing that leaves little energy left to search for jobs or housing. As he spoke with homeless people, listening to their stories and getting their input, McAdams bumped into a small family - a mom, dad and daughter - as they were leaving The Road Home. The little girl, nine years old, kept asking where they were going to sleep and what they were going to eat. The parents didn't know. The encounter reaffirmed for McAdams his top priority: moving families out of the shelter's harsh environment. That was accomplished July 15.