Closer to Home
Capital Campaign

Leading with Solutions

Family Haven | Senior Haven

Email LZschokke@cassaz.org to learn more or click below to donate now to the campaign.

The Homelessness Crisis Continues to Worsen

Creative solutions are needed to prevent and reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County, the fastest growing county in the United States.

As the nation’s fifth largest city, Phoenix is uniquely positioned to demonstrate that homelessness is solvable before we become known as just another failed city… Los Angeles, San Francisco, and others we have come to identify in this way.

It does no good to simply replicate systems that have brought us to where we are. More of the same will not end the threat to the fabric of our community. Nor can we wait for the real estate market or the government to create enough affordable housing.

Between population growth, an estimated shortage of 250,000 affordable housing units, rising rents and the gentrification of more neighborhoods, the number of homeless in our community is already shocking. Add to it the pandemic and the end of the eviction moratorium, the trajectory worsens.

We cannot wait!

CASS believes a more comprehensive system will move the needle. Working strategically, the organization is developing a comprehensive system where individuals move off the street into specialized programs with supports that lead towards independence and sustained housing.

The resulting health and economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic must be mitigated in inventive and strategic ways that can be implemented expeditiously and yield lasting results.

Leading with Solutions:

CASS’ Closer to Home Campaign Will Change Lives

CASS believes a more comprehensive system will move the needle. Working strategically, the organization is developing a comprehensive system where individuals move off the street into specialized programs with supports that lead towards independence and sustained housing.

CASS’ ambitious fundraising endeavor includes the following capital and programmatic components:

Rethink and Reinvent Congregate Shelters

Dignified, safe, non-chaotic, trauma informed environments are the primary vision for all CASS locations. Helping someone find their way out of homelessness requires addressing the root causes that created their homelessness, as well as the traumatic experiences that can greatly affect their mental health and wellbeing.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the goal of trauma-informed design in emergency shelters is to create spaces that are welcoming, demonstrate a safe, healing environment, and provide some degree of privacy, while at the same time allows staff to be able to monitor client behavior. These practices support an agency’s ability to implement trauma-informed care in service provision, recognizing the role that supportive-built environments can have in client success.

CASS’ family shelter and single adult shelter have long met the basic need for shelter and support, but are overdue for renovations that create a safer, calmer, and more welcoming environment to those who are apprehensive about congregate shelter. As part of our renovations, as well as our expansion from 470 to 600 adult shelter beds and temporary housing for up to 170 seniors, CASS ensures an environment that is supportive and safe—critical to a client’s long-term success. The renovation of our family shelter will also include the addition of counseling and training spaces.

As CASS moves forward on its strategic plan, we will also work towards a vision that focuses less on congregate shelters, and more on creating shelter environments that are tailored towards the unique needs of specific populations, beginning with our senior-focused services.

Operate Arizona’s First Seniors-Only Emergency Housing Facility

Half of Arizona’s homeless population is over the age of 50. Seniors are the fastest growing constituency of the homeless sector with nearly one in three homeless people over the age of 55 comprising today’s national homeless population. Researchers predict that the 65-plus homeless population will triple across the nation by 2030 (Culhane, Dennis). The majority of these seniors are experiencing homelessness for the first time in their lives. The Haven will house up to 170 seniors in a hotel-like setting and provide support services to move people from shelter to permanent housing.

Partner To Provide Shelter And Services For Individuals With Mental Illness

CASS is partnering with AHCCCS and Copa Health to build and operate a 54-bed shelter for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). We know that all people who are homeless have significant trauma in their lives, and many individuals who are chronically homeless have a SMI diagnosis. The shelter will provide wrap-around services to help individuals find support and appropriate permanent housing.

“CASS addresses homelessness and helps our unhoused citizens navigate the ins and outs of services towards best possible outcomes. Will you please help CASS provide the resources and tools to help individuals and families find their way from shelter, through social services towards stability, on their way home?”

—Bob Ramsey, President, Ramsey Social Justice Foundation

2023 GOALS

Senior Haven Shelter

Estimated Total Project Costs $30,000,0000

Committed Public and Private Funds Raised

$500000

Yet to be Raised $11,430,000

Download Brochure

Family Haven Shelter

Estimated Total Project Costs $12,000,0000

Committed Public and Private Funds Raised

$500000

Yet to be Raised $9,792,000

Download Brochure

GET INVOLVED!

How can you help? You can help us achieve these goals by supporting this campaign through:

  • Gifts of Cash
  • Gifts of Stock
  • Matching Gifts
  • Naming Opportunities
  • Multi-Year Pledge Commitments

Your generosity will make the difference for thousands of our homeless neighbors.  In demonstration of community support, we are offering naming opportunities for gifts $50,000 and above.  For more information, email Leslie Zschokke at lzschokke@cassaz.org or call 602-550-1316.

CLOSER TO HOME COMMITTEE

David Bixby, Co-Chair
Laurie Goldstein, Co-Chair
Tom Kelly • Juliet Lim • Bob Ramsey
Marty Schultz • Gerald Wissink