Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) is honored to receive $830,000 in Community Project Funding for Fiscal Year 2026, secured by Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, to support renovations at our 600-bed Single Adult Shelter in downtown Phoenix. This critical investment will allow CASS to improve and modernize key areas of the shelter, such as bathrooms, safety improvements, and essential areas of the shelter to better support our clients.
“At CASS we believe everyone deserves a dignified place to rest their head,” says Nathan Smith, CEO of Central Arizona Shelter Services.
CASS is a vital resource in addressing homelessness across the region. Last year, its three emergency shelters, The Haven senior shelter, Vista Colina Family Shelter, and the Downtown Single Adult Shelter, served 4,585 individuals experiencing homelessness. With 850 beds being nearly one quarter of the 3,642 emergency shelter beds available in Maricopa County.
For many people, arriving at CASS marks the beginning of rebuilding their lives.
Marcus Ross, a former CASS client, shared how the support he received helped him regain stability.
“Coming from Florida to Arizona, just getting out of prison, I had no birth certificate, no ID, no job, and no place to live. I stumbled across CASS and left upright on two feet.”
Stories like Marcus’s highlight the importance of ensuring shelters are
safe, functional, and welcoming. Shelter should be a place where individuals feel safe enough to move forward. This funding will refurbish CASS’ 20 year old facility on the Key Campus using Trauma Informed Design to improve the Downtown Shelter’s lobby focusing on the security station and in-take desk. A large part of the funding will center around improving plumbing for the 600 bed facility, as the building was designed in 2005 to shelter 400 people.
We appreciate Congresswoman Ansari’s support in helping strengthen shelter services for those who need it most.
