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Remain Human-Centered
Reflections from the front lines serving people experiencing homelessness, in the middle of an overbearingly hot Phoenix summer, staring down the end date on significant funding, and questioning how to balance the various sentiments on housing development.
The Keys to Change outreach team continues to count unsheltered individuals near and far from the Key Campus. Tuesday morning (August 6) 122 unsheltered people slept in the immediate neighborhood. And 567 additional people were found in an expanded several mile radius around us. That's 689 souls with no indoor shelter.
The four emergency shelter spaces on the Key Campus continue to shelter a total of 900 individuals nightly. We are full. The Safe Outdoor Space we operate in partnership with the City of Phoenix holds tents sheltering 184 people.
We know from the by-name list that the Keys to Change Housing Match Team manages for the Maricopa County region that 8,134 people are unhoused and awaiting a housing referral.
As I write this around 9 pm, the Weather Channel is advising of a thunderstorm that will likely strike Central Phoenix. The temperature is 99 degrees. Wind gusts may hit 40 miles per hour. The advisory warns "Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. ... PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building."
I'm nestled in a climate-controlled home. Wind and rain recently passed over. The satellite TV flickered, causing glitchy Olympic diver performances. I do not take my privilege for granted. I observe pangs of guilt that I have all of this, while 689 + 900 + 184 = 1,773 people may have a cot or a mat or a tent. Or they may be hunkering down outside, unaware of the potential weather threat. Read more...
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