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| Phoenix: A long heat wave led this homeless man to seek shelter – and water – at the site on Friday. Faye Bowers |
Sun-scorched Phoenix takes more heart for its homeless
The heat wave hitting the Sun Belt's homeless population is being met with new rigor.
from the July 9, 2007 edition
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The Lodestar Day Resource Center, where cases of water are served at regular intervals, is part of a two-year-old campus of facilities for homeless people that serves as a model for the nation, says David Bridge of Central Arizona Shelter Services. CASS provides a shelter with 400 beds on the campus: 300 for men and 100 for women. There's a St. Vincent de Paul relief group that serves breakfast and lunch, and Andre House, which serves dinner. The campus also includes a full-service dental clinic, a mental health clinic, a substance abuse clinic, and Veterans Administration staff.
"Our 400 beds are maxed out every night," says Mr. Bridge. After the 30 deaths in 2005, CASS opened an emergency overflow shelter – a big room with 300 mats for sleeping on the floor – across the street. Lately, that's maxed out, too.
At the North Hills Church complex on Phoenix's northern fringes, which also opened after the 2005 crisis, 50 homeless men, women, and children sit in a darkened, cooled room after dining on barbecue-beef or pastrami sandwiches, chocolate cake, milk, and lots of water.
"We go through about six cases [35 bottles per case] of water per day," says volunteer Earl Brightman, director of the North Hills Church facility. It provides shelter, water, two hot meals, showers, and clothing to 50 people per day, on average. The shelter opened June 4 and will close at the end of September. Last year, it served 277 people over the entire season. During the first four weeks of this season, it has served 500, says Mr. Brightman.
"This place is a gift from God," says a middle-age man who didn't want to give his name. He lives in a nearby wash.
How to help: water drive
Valley of the Sun United Way
1515 East Osborn Rd.,
Phoenix, AZ 85014
(602) 631-4841 phone
(602) 776-3341 fax
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