Mr. Beal Ends his Homelessness with Help from HSC

After moving to Phoenix from Chicago, Mr. Beal stayed briefly with family members. Eventually, due to overcrowding he moved out and stayed with a female companion on and off. When that relationship started to become toxic, even though he was struggling with leaving his significant other, Mr. Beal felt it would be in his best interest to try to make it on his own. That is when he found the HSC. When HSC staff first explained the housing program that he was eligible for and that it was for single adults, he was conflicted and didn’t come back for about a week before making his decision to move forward with his housing plan.

Mr.Beal accessed services at the Brian Garcia Welcome Center, Homeless I.D. Project (to obtain his birth certificate from Chicago), HSC's "post office" services, Community Bridges, HSC COVID Relief Shelter, and AZ Department of Economic Security for food stamp benefits.

Mr. Beal is very grateful to now have a place to call home and for all of the services made available by the HSC and our partners

HSC Executive Director Amy Schwabenlender and Program Director Richard Crews have been selected to join 45 others as new Fellows with The Shriver Center on Poverty Law. The 47 Fellows will participate in the 2021 Racial Justice Institute (RJI), a leadership program that equips and coordinates anti-poverty advocates to affirmatively advance racial equity.

In response to a national call to resolve systemic inequities and structural racism that many communities experience daily, organizations have been challenged to examine their practices and dismantle barriers to opportunity. The institute believes that legal aid and public interest advocates are key to achieving important systemic changes in their client communities — however, sustainable change must be grounded in an understanding of key race equity concepts and specialized tools.

“We are in the midst of unprecedented times in our country and being selected as a Shriver Center for Racial Justice Institute Fellow is both a humbling and important opportunity to be part of the process to address and develop solutions for issues that are causing so much upheaval and anger,” Schwabenlender said. 

The Shriver Center’s Racial Justice Institute teaches advocates a commitment to race equity as an integral and essential part of anti-poverty advocacy and prepares them to tackle these issues on behalf of the communities they serve. Following seven months of intensive training, Racial Justice Institute fellows join a growing national network of nearly 300 alumni advancing race equity issues across the country.  

“This is an amazing opportunity at a pivotal time in our nation’s history to build capacity to confront and disrupt racial inequity with change leaders from around the country, while simultaneously creating impact that will be felt and implemented locally in Arizona,” Crews said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis, combined with the racial reckoning during the past year, have exposed racial disparities experienced daily in the communities that anti-poverty advocates serve,” said Kimberly Merchant, Director of the Racial Justice Institute and Network. 

Entering its eighth year, the Shriver Center’s Racial Justice Institute has cultivated nearly 300 advocates, representing more than 90 organizations in 31 states and the District of Columbia. For more information about the Shriver Center on Poverty Law visit www.povertylaw.org.

In Episode 9, we take an eye-opening look at the intersection of race and homelessness. A recent report reveals that African Americans are nearly four times more likely to experience homelessness in Maricopa County. For Native Americans, that number is more than two times. We examine the disparities that exist and the steps being taken to fix it.

Amy Schwabenlender then answers a question from Lloyd Hopkins at the Million Dollar Teacher Project in the Leader to Leader segment and helps explain the Government’s role in helping to end homelessness in the latest edition of McQuaid Mission Mythbusters.

Special guests include: Nicky Stevens, Regional Homelessness Program Manager, Maricopa Association of Governments; and Brent Downs, Executive Director, St. Joseph The Worker.