Homeless in Arizona

Homeless in Arizona By Rosemary Brown

December 9, 2012CRE 101Phyllis SalsedoFinal Exploration

1Driving Factors in Becoming HomelessPoverty

Domestic violence Chronic health conditions

Mental health issues

Substance use

82,000 Arizonans are receiving emergency food boxes a week in Arizona.More than 14,000 Arizonans experience homelessness each day.30% of Arizonas homeless population are children and teens.In one year, the working poor in Arizona have seen a 10% increase in costs to maintain basic living necessities such as food, shelter and clothing.Almost 50% of the homeless are women, children or families.The fastest growing segment of the homeless population is families with children.43% of children living in homeless families are under the age of 6.16% of the single adult population suffers from some form of severe or persistent mental illness.At least 40% of the adult homeless population has an addiction disorder.23% of homeless men are US veterans.Top 10 Facts

The Phoenix Rescue Missionhttp://phoenixrescuemission.org 3 Nobody ever says I want to be homeless

There is good chance you know someone that is homeless. A friend you have lost touch with, an old high school buddy? I happen to know a few people who have lost jobs and their homes over the last few of years. So far they have been lucky enough to have friends and/or family they could turn to for help while they struggled to get back on their feet again. There are many families living pay check to pay check and they are only one pay day away from becoming homeless. 30% of our homeless are childrenSince 1972 Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development has touched the lives of over 3,000 youth annually with these services: Emergency shelter Transitional living Counseling Skill development Education and employment assistance Family reunification using Functional Family Therapy Independent living skills training Street outreach and drop-in center resources in Tempe and Phoenix for homeless youth A community Learning Center a certified school, vocational and work placement center Tumbleweed also partners in five collaborations that provideprevention and early intervention to at risk youth and their families primarily in the Greater Phoenix Area.

Tumbleweed Center for Youth Developmenthttp://www.tumbleweed.org/azmany OF THESE CHILDREN STILL BELIEVE IN SANTA

The line is long in Mesa for sign-ups for the Salvation Army's Christmas Angel program. (Photo: Jim Cross/KTAR, 2012)

Tens of thousands of Arizona children who, without your help, will not have a single gift under the tree this holiday.

Salvation Army Christmas Angel Program www1.usw.salvationarmy.org/.../8779A9965AE58C6988257791008.Who is helping the homelessThese are only a few of the many organization in Arizona dedicated to helping the homeless and hungry

(For more information about any of the charities below click on their logo) Forbes rated The United Way #1 and The Salvation Army #2 in their ranking of the largest charitable organization in the United States. Each of these have local offices here in the valley and could not operate without the volunteers and donations from the thousands of people that donate time and money towards helping those in need.

For a complete List of the top 100 U.S. charities and their data including (Private Support ,Total Revenue, Fundraising Efficiency, Charitable Commitment and Donor Dependency collected from Forbes.com please visit their website at: http://www.forbes.com/top-charities/list/

20 percent were experiencing homelessness for the first time. 30 percent were on the brink of homelessness. 30 percent were families. 10 percent were veterans.

Valley of the Sun United Wayhttp://www.vsuw.org/end-homelessness/project-connect

Project ConnectSince 2008, united Way has helped more than 5,500 individuals connect to key health and human services through Project Connect, a program for people experiencing or at-risk of experiencing homelessness. In 2010, of the guests who attended Project Connect:

our pets are our familyFor many of the homeless their pet is the only family they have. One valley agency wants to help keep them together while they are trying to find food, work, and homes.

Between 5% to 10% of homeless people have dogs and/or cats. (Pets of the homeless)Pets of the Homeless has donation sites all over the valley. Click the link to find one near your home. http://www.petsofthehomeless.org/collection-sites/current-sites.htmlThink before you giveIs the charity you are giving to a member of the Better Business Bureau? Are they willing to give you access to their annual reports and Form 990? Are they only asking you for money or would they welcome your time helping in other ways?

Good intentions aren't enough when you donate to charity. You need to make sure your charitable dollars aren't being wasted--or worse, going to a fraudster. (10 Tips To Avoid Charity Rip-offs, Forbes.com)http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2012/11/30/gifts-to-charity-in-2012-may-beat-2013-taxwise/

Example taken from The United Ways Valley of the Sun website:(In addition to posting our Form 990 on our Web site for public review, Valley of the Sun United Way is an active member of the Better Business Bureau and a past recipient of its Ethics Award, which recognizes businesses for maintaining high ethical standards and accountability in their business practices). (http://www.vsuw.org/about-us/financial-overview)

How can you helpAny donation of food, money, gently used clothing, blankets, toiletries, pet food or just a little bit of your time to any one of these organizations will help and is always appreciated

Phoenix Rescue Mission http://phoenixrescuemission.org

The Society of St. Vincent de Paulhttp://www.stvincentdepaul.net/City of Phoenix Salvation Armyhttp://www1.usw.salvationarmy.org Pets of the homelesshttp://www.petsofthehomeless.org/ Valley of the Sun United Wayhttp://www.unitedway.org/pages/about-united-way-worldwideTumbleweed Center for Youth Developmenthttp://www.tumbleweed.org/az_homeless_youth.php

(Photo: Jennifer Foster, 2012) THE ENDPlease take time this holiday season to remember our homelessThank youMusic: Baroque Moments, Dale Kavanagh & Thomas Kirchhoff, 2004