Without an ID they were stuck!” Those words described the findings of Homeless ID Project founder Gerald Roseberry in 1987 when he set out to discover why so many were living on the streets. Jerry’s vision then and the mission now is to empower individuals and families to end their homelessness and rebuild their lives by providing the critical first step of identification replacement services.
Homeless ID Project provides replacement identification services every weekday in the Brian Garcia Welcome Center on the Human Services Campus and in shared service locations across Maricopa and Pima Counties. In 2021, the agency will provide more than 8,000 documents including state IDs, birth certificates from all 50 states, and other documents needed to gain employment, housing, access to basic services, and even school enrollment for children. Safe document storage is available for clients living on the street.
“We take that piece of plastic in our wallet for granted,” according to Program Manager Eric Ortega. “The problems caused by lack of an ID are not obvious until it’s too late. You can’t get a job or make progress towards ending homelessness without an ID and sometimes we need to start the identity process with a birth certificate from another state, which can take months!”
Like all Campus partners, Homeless ID Project exists to provide resources aimed at ending homelessness. The agency also seeks to prevent homelessness where possible by working to make identification documents available to those exiting jail or prison, kids aging out of foster care, and otherwise at risk of ending up on the street due to the inability to provide legal proof of identification.
Homeless ID Project is proud to be affiliated with the Human Services Campus and each campus partner. To learn more about the agency please visit the website at HIDP.org.
