June 2014

Transforming Lives. Transforming Our City. PhoenixRescueMission.org

New FaceTHE

OF HOMELESSNESS

continued on page 3

INSIDE: 2The Changing Face of Homelessness

2A Healthy Step Forward

5Summer Showers at the Mission

Ten years ago they represented a tiny

minority, a hidden population rarely

seen on the streets of our city. But

lately, the Phoenix Rescue Mission has seen

a shift among our homeless demographic.

More and more, when we come across those

huddled in alleyways or standing in line for a

meal in our cafeteria, they aren’t the rough,

street-hardened men we expect to see.

They are hungry women and children

with no place to go. They’re families like

Sheena’s.

“We were finishing up at our second Code

Red stop for the day, handing out bottles of

water and sack lunches to those out in the heat

when she walked around the corner,” says

Tamara, a first time volunteer on the Hope

Coach.

“She was pushing a beat-up looking

stroller with a little boy inside fast asleep and

a curly-haired girl perched on top. Hesitantly,

she asked us if we knew a place where she and

theMAINthingkeeping the main thing,

a message from Jay Cory, President and CEO

As you read in our cover story this month, the face of homelessness in Phoenix is beginning to

change. It’s a growing epidemic. More and more we are finding women with young children

with no place to go. Our Changing Lives Center does wonders for women in recovery, but it’s not

designed for emergency shelter services.

We need something much more immediate to meet the

growing demand.

That’s why this summer we’re gearing up to make Code

Red and the Mission more effective than ever before. This year we will be praying for and seeking options to include a new

short-term emergency shelter area. We’ll also be renovating and restructuring our shower facilities. These two improvements

mean that for the first time we will be able to offer women and their children cool showers, a comfortable place to sleep and the

safety of real emergency shelter.

That’s a huge step forward in our mission to serve the least, the last and the lost because it gives us the ability to transform

lives in ways that were never possible before!

I wish I had a better way for saying how grateful I am for the prayers and support that makes improvements like these

possible. Without you, the Mission would not exist and so many would never find the hope and joy that comes from a renewed

life and a relationship with Jesus Christ. Thank you again for your partnership.

A Healthy Step Forward

Living on the streets isn’t healthy. In addition to the damage normally caused by addiction, exposure to the elements and lack

of nutritious food wreaks havoc on a body. As a result, many of the women who come to find hope at the Changing Lives

Center come to us in need of medical attention. Coordinating doctor’s appointments and providing transportation for 200+

women and children isn’t easy and adds an immense strain to our women’s already busy recovery schedules.

That’s why we’re excited to announce that after

months of hard work, the physical health and well

being of the women we serve is about to take a huge

leap forward!

The Phoenix Rescue Mission, in partnership with

the Nursing program at Grand Canyon University, has arranged for a new medical clinic

to be stationed inside the Changing Lives Center. This is a huge benefit to the women

and children we serve as it provides easy access to medical care without the hassle of

making appointments and arranging for transportation – leaving more time for recovery.

The medical clinic is available for assessments and continued care for our women once

per week and even offers a pediatric clinic for their children twice a month.

Going forward, this new partnership with GCU will allow everyone at the CLC

to focus on what matters most – transformation. Thank you so much for the prayers and support that makes problem-solving

partnerships like these possible.

A sneak peek of our new Medical Clinic with CLC Program Director Barb Sloan, recent recovery graduate Elizabeth Clark and her son Justin.

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continued from page one

her children could stay the night. We found out her

name was Sheena, she’s 27, and her adorable kids are

3 years old, 18 months and 3 months old. Confused,

I looked at the stroller then back to her to see if I’ve

missed someone. ‘Three kids? I only see two.’ That’s

when she points down to the area under the stroller.

In the bin used to store diaper bags, a 3-month-old

baby boy is curled in a ball sleeping.”

For the next few hours the head of our Hope

Coach program, Chaplain Cliff, called his contacts

in hopes of finding somewhere for Sheena and her

children to stay.

It’s a disturbing new trend and with summer

temperatures already in the triple digits, women

like Sheena and her children are in serious danger.

In fact, as dangerous as the summer sun is to adults,

it can be twice as deadly to children. According

to researchers at San Francisco State University, a

child’s body can heat up three to five times faster

than an adult’s in the same environment!

It’s clear that more women and children on the

streets this summer means more lives at risk than

ever before. The problem is, the Mission is not currently equipped to give proper relief

to this rising homeless population. Sheena was lucky, after many phone calls we were

able to find her immediate shelter at a partner agency and set her up as a candidate for

our long-term recovery program later at the Changing Lives Center. But these results

are not typical.

While we are able to serve families like Sheena’s through meals, long-term recovery and other services,

we are currently unable to provide the emergency

shelter they need due to lack of space and funding.

The good news is – that’s about to change.

With your help through Code Red this summer,

the Phoenix Rescue Mission is gearing up to meet

this new need and help keep this growing number of

women and children out of harm’s way.

Our plan is threefold.

Tamara (left), a first time volunteer, and Chaplain Cliff help Sheena and her children find shelter. The third child, a 3 month old baby boy, is curled in a ball sleeping in the diaper bag bin.

It’s clear that more women and children on the streets this summer means more

lives at risk than ever before.

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First, nothing cools an overheated body like a cool

shower and some fresh clothes. This year we plan a much

needed and long overdue renovation of our shower

facilities at the Mission. The process will not only allow

us to repair and upgrade, it will give us the freedom to

easily restructure our shower area and allow us to offer

this kind of vital heat relief to women and their children

for the first time. The cost to see this become a reality

will be $205,000. You can read more about this exciting

new project on page 5.

Second, we plan to beat the heat through nutrition.

Not many realize that a major source of the water our

body uses comes from the foods we eat – 20% on

average. That percentage goes up or down based on

the types of food we ingest, with fruits and vegetables

providing the most hydration benefit. That’s why we’re dedicated, with the help of our volunteer partners,

to getting as many fresh fruits and vegetables as we can into the hands and stomachs of women and children

this summer.

Last but not least, we are planning on the

first phase of expanding our emergency shelter

facilities to accommodate women and children.

Our goal is to create a small women’s shelter

area within the footprint of the Mission that

will house up to five women and their children

overnight. Currently, once night approaches, we

must turn away those women and children who

come to us seeking the safety of our campus.

It’s a heartbreaking experience to watch them

disappear into the night – one we hope will soon

be in the past!

Thank you for the prayers and support that

is helping save even more lives this summer!

Remember that every gift you give to Code Red

this month is instantly doubled – creating twice the impact

for life-saving programs like the ones above.

Together, we can protect this new homeless population from our deadly summer heat and give them

hope in more ways than ever before!

Once night approaches, we must turn away those women and children who come to us seeking the

safety of our campus. It’s a heartbreaking experience to watch them disappear into

the night – one we hope will soon be in the past!

Melodie is part of the increasing female homeless population seen in Phoenix. More women and children are living on the streets than ever before.

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You know the feeling. After working in the yard all

day, you’re hot; you’re sweaty and dirty. There’s

grunge under your fingernails. Your clothes stick to

you and you can feel grit all over your body. At that moment

there’s only one thing you want in the world, the one thing

that has the power to wash away all the grime and make you

feel human again – a shower.

Now take that gritty, uncomfortable feeling and

multiply it by ten. You’ll come close to knowing what it’s like to be homeless day after day on our hot summer

streets.

You’ll also understand why finding showers ready and waiting here at the Mission is such a blessing to the men

we serve and why every day, between 140 - 170 showers are taken here at the shelter. Around the clock, sun up to

sun down, water and soap is always in demand.

But therein lies the problem.

The shower facilities that have been in perpetual use for decades have begun to break down. The plumbing,

not built for such nonstop service, is in constant need of mending. The tiling on the floor is crumbling from the

uninterrupted traffic. The walls and the ceilings are in serious disrepair due to the combined moisture buildup of

hundreds of thousands of showers.

To put it simply, it’s far past time for a renovation.

But not just a renovation – a restructuring. We

found that by moving things around we could increase

the number of shower stalls from 7 to 12. We also

found we could increase the number of toilets from 4

to 10. This is important because it would eliminate the

need for the Porta-Jons we currently have on grounds

and save the Mission over $12,000 a year in rental

costs! But the best benefit by far is something that has

nothing to do with the men we serve. This $205,000

restructuring project means that for the first time

we will have a separate shower area for women and

children!

It’s a huge deal! Never before have we had the

ability to offer the showers that our men enjoy to the women and children we serve. But more than that, this new

addition is also instrumental in our plan to offer overnight emergency shelter to women and children – something

that our hearts have been set on for years!

Thank you for the support that makes stepping stones to real life change like this a reality. Soon more people

than ever before will be able to come to the Mission to be refreshed, to find relief and above all, be transformed by

Christ-centered work you make possible.

The shower facilities that have been in perpetual use for decades have begun to break down and it’s far past time for a renovation.

Summer Showers at the Mission

To mail a gift: P.O. Box 6708 ~ Phoenix, AZ 85005-6708For shelter & meal service: 1801 S. 35th Avenue ~ Phoenix, AZ 85009602-233-3000 ~ www.phoenixrescuemission.org

Phoenix Rescue Mission would like to thank you for a tremendous year. As you can see, your support really made a difference for men, women and children in the Phoenix area:(Figures from January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013)

• Total Meals Provided 374,752

• Bed Nights of Shelter 70,908

• Permanent Job Placements 94

• Volunteer Service Hours 27,138

• Bottles of Water Distributed 425,401

Mission Mileposts

SUMMER NEEDS

Our need for summer supplies will be greater this year than ever! To serve those at our shelter and on the street, we need the following items:

Cases of Bottled Water Hats Sunscreen (SPF 60+) Hygiene SuppliesLight-colored T-shirts Chap Stick with SPFChilly Neck Coolers White SocksGranola Bars SunglassesTowels SheetsPillows

To donate, please call Gail Engstrom at 602-688-6220 or email at gengstrom@phoenixrescuemission.org.

All donations can be dropped off at our donation Center Warehouse at 1468 N. 26th Ave., Phoenix.

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Great News! We were able to extend our Code Red Matching Gift Challenge to the end of June! Just like in May, this means that any gift you give

this month for Code Red will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $150,000! That’s double the life-saving heat relief for the men, women and children who need it most!

As you can see, we’re almost half way to meeting this matching gift challenge! We’d like to send a huge thank you to all of our friends who have contributed so far. Because of you we’re well on our way to taking full advantage of this incredible opportunity!

But there are other ways you can help us beat the heat this summer. Consider hosting a water drive at your church or in your neighborhood. Every bottle you collect is another opportunity to save a life! You can also volunteer to get those bottles into the hands

of men, women and children across Phoenix by signing up to volunteer with the Hope Coach.

For more information on all of these opportunities to make a difference

this summer, please visit www.phoenixrescuemission.org/codered.