Phoenix police officers Esteban Navarrette (left) and Lee Williams monitor homeless individuals at 12th Avenue and Madison Street in downtown Phoenix. The city of Phoenix Police Department has recently expanded patrols in the area to help keep a check on the crimes associated with the homeless. Instead of harassing and booking the homeless into jail – on suspicion of offenses ranging from trespassing to disorderly conduct – police are connecting them to Central Arizona Shelter Services , Arizona largest shelter provider. In this way Phoenix police are being part of a solution to end homelessness rather than part of the problem. Picture credit: Tom Tingle/Arizona Republic
I attended a fundraising event to end homeless in the city of Phoenix on December 6, 2013 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel called appropriately enough the “I AM HOME” Breakfast.
The event was sponsored by CASS (Central Arizona Shelter Services), Lodestar Day Resource Center and the Human Services Campus.
These are the three primary organizations in the city of Phoenix that deals directly with the homeless population.
I was greatly encouraged by their efforts to address this vexing problem in the city of Phoenix and Maricopa County area.
“Dear friends,
As 2013 comes to a close, Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), Lodestar Day Resources Center (LDRC) and the Human Services Campus are moving toward a new and improved future together. With the goal of ending homelessness, the Campus opened for operation in 2005. Initially, the Campus co-located existing organizations to provide essential services to help the homeless in our community meet their basic needs. However, we realize that providing food, clothing and shelter was merely a temporary fix and not a long term solution.
Over the years, the services providers on the Campus have continued to not only provide for basic needs, but also enhanced the supportive services – such as employment, housing placement and physical, dental and mental health – needed to empower homeless men and women to rebuild their lives and find permanent solutions to end their homelessness.
As our services have evolved to better serve our clients, so has the need for CASS, LDRC and the Campus to collaborate more efficiently. Now, as we look to the future,. our resolve is to maximize the use of our precious resources and work together more effectively to help identify solutions to end chronic homelessness in Maricopa County. We are on the verge of accomplishing that goal, and our first collaborative event is the I Am Home Breakfast.
We hope you will join us for this free event and learn more about our work and goals for the future.
Sincerley
Michael McQuaid
rmmcquaid@aol.com
Mark Holleran
mholleran@cassaz.org
For more information on CASS visit website: http://www.cassaz.org/about-cass/
See video: CASS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlht6ZcCmzk
For more information regarding Lodestar Day Resources Center see webpage: http://lodestardrc.org/
See video: Lodestar Day Resources Center http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6dURBWqqEU
For more information regarding the Human Services Campus see webpage: http://www.humanservicescampus.org/
See video: HSC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcbr6Ha-ry4
See video: Crisis Intervention Coordinator, City of Phoenix http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bphvI6buS6k