Holidays bring increase of homeless in shelters
Joshua Bishop
Coming into the holiday season there is one thought that is on the minds of many: the economy.With a little number crunching, most families this year will be able to weather the storm. However, for as many families that will be sitting down to a turkey dinner this year, there will be just as many who are homeless.
Spending the day volunteering at a homeless shelter will open eyes to the economic state we are in.
One may have an idea of our state’s homeless population when they walk into the shelter, but upon leaving they will have a much broader and heartbreaking scope in mind.
They will see people of every race and age, they will see families, children and teens.
One such shelter that is feeling the influx is the Phoenix Rescue Mission.
Originally established in the ’50s, PRM is a faith-based community that not only feeds and shelters the homeless, but also helps them get back on their feet. The center offers assistance for those who are seeking jobs and homes.
For those who have drug or alcohol addictions, PRM offers one-year and two-year programs that help graduates reestablish themselves in society.
The mission has been helping feed and shelter the homeless for over 50 years and this year has been one of its busiest.
“The number of what we call first-time homeless have been drastically increasing,” said volunteer coordinator Marlena Padron.
Padron, who has been with the mission for a year, has seen all sorts of people come through its doors, including those who have lived on the streets their whole lives and others who just got out of jail.
However, an increasing amount of them are young families, who are homeless for the first time.
Last year, the Phoenix Rescue Mission served 250,000 meals and filled 50,000 beds for a night of shelter. This year, they expect to have doubled that number by the end of the year.
“There’s a lot of reasons why people are homeless. One we’ve seen a lot of this year is that house payments went too high and people started losing their jobs,” Padron said.
Whatever the reasons for the homeless problem in the state, Padron stresses a very simple solution: volunteer.
One suggestion Padron has is to organize food drives within the community or simply just to clean out your closet.
For some families, a turkey dinner and a fresh pair of socks are worth more than gold. Even something as simple as a bar of soap will go a long way.
As far as Padron is concerned, the community can have a bigger impact than they will ever know.
“When people come out of our program they won’t be afraid to restart their lives,” Padron said.
