\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTed Taylor\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubmitted photo\/Family Promise of Greater Phoenix\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
By Ted Taylor | Scottsdale<\/p>\n
OPINION \u2014 Every day at Family Promise of Greater Phoenix, I meet parents facing impossible choices. Pay rent or buy medicine? Sleep in a car or split up the family?<\/p>\n
As housing costs soar across Arizona, more families find themselves one paycheck away from homelessness. Yet amid this growing emergency, I’m witnessing something remarkable: faith communities mobilizing with unprecedented collaboration.<\/p>\n
The reality behind our housing shortage<\/strong><\/p>\n Look beyond the construction cranes dotting Phoenix\u2019s skyline and you\u2019ll find a troubling reality. For every 100 families with extremely low incomes, only 22 affordable rental units exist. Most vulnerable households now spend over half their earnings just to keep a roof overhead. When unexpected expenses hit \u2014 medical bills, car repairs, childcare emergencies \u2014 eviction notices follow.<\/p>\n Religious communities find new purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n Faith groups across Arizona have discovered fresh energy through service. Membership may fluctuate in many congregations, but commitment to helping homeless families has surged.<\/p>\n Our network now includes 40 religious communities \u2014 Christian churches, Jewish synagogues and other faith centers \u2014 all opening their doors to shelter families without homes. Last year alone, nearly 6,000 volunteers cooked meals, prepared bedrooms and welcomed guests into their sacred spaces.<\/p>\n A model that preserves dignity<\/strong><\/p>\n What makes this approach unique? Families rotate weekly between congregations, staying together in community spaces transformed into temporary homes. Parents maintain jobs and children continue attending school. Pets remain at our pet sanctuary while families go to congregations for nightly food and lodging.<\/p>\n This rotation system keeps costs minimal while maximizing community involvement. Each congregation serves for just a few weeks annually, preventing volunteer burnout while creating meaningful connections with families in crisis.<\/p>\n Real results, real lives<\/strong><\/p>\n Numbers tell only part of the story. Eight in 10 families who complete our program maintain stable housing two years later. Most stay with us less than six weeks before finding permanent homes.<\/p>\n Behind these statistics are children who didn\u2019t miss critical school days, parents who kept their jobs and families who avoided the trauma of separation.<\/p>\n Success comes from addressing both immediate shelter needs and long-term stability. While congregations provide safe places to sleep, our case managers help parents secure employment, find affordable childcare, manage finances and locate permanent housing. This comprehensive approach transforms temporary shelter into lasting independence.<\/p>\n Finding common ground through service<\/strong><\/p>\n In an era when religious differences often divide communities, this interfaith effort demonstrates what unites us. Christians, Jews and others set theological distinctions aside to focus on shared values of compassion and justice. Volunteers from different faith traditions work side by side, finding common purpose in serving vulnerable neighbors.<\/p>\n \n Faith communities are refusing to wait for government or political solutions. They\u2019re acting now, creating immediate shelter options while advocating for systemic change.<\/p>\n Join this movement<\/strong><\/p>\n Every congregation can become part of this interfaith response. Some religious communities host families overnight. Others provide meals or volunteers. Some contribute financially. All make a difference.<\/p>\n \n Individual community members can help, too. Volunteer your time. Donate household essentials. Advocate for housing policies that protect vulnerable families. Small actions multiply when communities unite.<\/p>\n By focusing on what we share \u2014 commitment to helping vulnerable families \u2014 faith communities are building bridges that strengthen our entire state. They\u2019re proving that when we serve together, we not only shelter families \u2014 we rebuild the very fabric of community.<\/p>\n Ted Taylor is CEO of Family Promise of Greater Phoenix, a Scottsdale-based nonprofit that helps families move from homelessness to sustainable independence through shelter, prevention and stabilization services. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net\/letters<\/a> or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org.\u00a0We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our\u00a0Civility Guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\tKeywords<\/p>\n \t\t\t\thousing,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t homelessness,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t families,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t congregations,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t community,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Family Promise\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ted Taylor Submitted photo\/Family Promise of Greater Phoenix By Ted Taylor | Scottsdale OPINION \u2014 Every day at…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":468743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,718,213087,13959,213088,7265,7065,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-468742","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-community","12":"tag-congregations","13":"tag-families","14":"tag-family-promise","15":"tag-homelessness","16":"tag-housing","17":"tag-phoenix","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115774237739684076","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}