Tumbleweed tempe youth resource center

Spring 2017

Coppola, C. (2016, March 1). How Tempe might change the way it handles homeless on Mill Avenue. Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2016/02/29/tempe-considers-new-rules-sidewalk-campers-mill-avenue/80716046/

City officials are considering a new ordinance that, in effect, would allow police to continue that "cool'' approach while also providing an enforcement option to discourage camping on sidewalks downtown. It would allow police to cite violators, but only if they do not respond to police warnings and information about the ordinance. Under the new proposal, police first would be required to inform a sidewalk camper about the law and ask them to move. If a person does not respond after a reasonable time — the ordinance would leave the time frame to the discretion of police — officers could cite them with a ticket of up to $100 for a first offense. In late 2014, the council repealed a 1999 ordinance that prohibited sitting on sidewalks in the downtown district unless there was a good reason, such as being ill, disabled or participating in a legal demonstration. The repeal came after the council faced widespread criticism from homeless advocates when members amended the ordinance earlier to include streets and alleys outside the downtown area. Critics claimed the law essentially criminalized people who were homeless.

I plan to use this research to argue that there is too many homeless people that can be helped and moved to safe shelters. Even though police and city officials aren’t using the right solution to help but not move them away. This approach wont benefits any side. I will then argue that Homeless people must be helped and not being forced to move from a location to somewhere the same, but providing them with the right shelter and not sleeping on sidewalks will eventually work for them. The website is trustworthy because its an interview with a homeless and how to solve their problems with what they face everyday. (Words: 272)

RAMIREZ, A. (n.d.). The wanderers of Mill Avenue. Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://aztecpressonline.com/2012/04/the-wanderers-of-mill-avenue/

Since the U.S. economy has been spiraling, the government has tried to reduce homelessness. Between 2009 and 2011, programs like The Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program have reduced homelessness by 1 percent. But, that still leaves more than 600,000 people in the United States without homes. More than 200,000 of those people live without shelter. There is a misconception that all homeless people are alcoholics, drug addicts or just plain lazy. Many times, this is not the case. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an estimated 23 percent of the homeless are veterans. It is also estimated there are 25,000 homeless youths in the United States. Many are either runaways or have been forced onto the street because their families lost their homes. Often people assume that homelessness is caused by hardship, mental illness or drug addictions. This many times is the case, but less often than one might think. Many insist they enjoy being on the street, saying a routine way of life is not living. Some people claim to choose a life of homelessness in order to travel and meet new people. Jeremy Schmidt, commonly known as Rounder, is one of those individuals. Many Mill Avenue transients are part of a younger generation. According to the Arizona Department of Education, youth homelessness in the state has grown more than 80 percent in the past five years. “Many of the teens say that homelessness was a choice for them, when in reality there was something behind it,” Jana Smith, program manager for Tumbleweed’s Tempe Youth Resource Center, said. I will argue that no matter what’s the problem that faced those homeless people and what made them choose this life, there’s always hope to support them and return them back to the right path, This website is trustworthy because it explains to us what lead homeless to be In that situation and how cant it be solved. (Words: 320)

Tempe moves ahead with sidewalk sitting ban plan. (2016). Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/sidewalk-sitting-could-be-banned-in-tempe-again

The Tempe City Council decided Thursday to move forward with a proposed change to city code that would allow a police officer to give a verbal warning to someone lying or sitting on a downtown sidewalk. If the person stayed put, the officer could issue civil infraction with a fine of $100, according to the proposal. Groups of people, some of them homeless, often sit along Mill Avenue, the city’s main commercial street. That situation in downtown Tempe is an “image issue,” according to Baxby Nye, who was walking his dogs along the street Wednesday night. “I think they should clean it up,” Nye said of the sidewalk issue. “They’re trying to make Tempe a nicer place.” A woman who goes by “Kitten,” found sitting on a sidewalk along Mill Avenue Wednesday night, said her street-side perch is how she survives. “This is how we eat, this is how we survive,” Kitten said of sitting along the road and holding a sign asking for money. Sidewalk sitting was banned in downtown Tempe until 2014, when the city began to allow it. Downtown patrols have since noted a 200 percent increase in people sitting or lying on the sidewalks, city documents show. Complaints also started to come in from the business community.

I plan to use this research to show what needed to be down and what is happing to downtown tempe. Also, it shows that some people aren’t happy by the increasing number of homeless people on mill. I will argure that its true they needed to do something or move them somewhere else or help them find a shelter to protect them. (Words:272)

Homeless Services | Tempe Community Council. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://www.tempecommunitycouncil.org/homeless-services/

Homeless Services

City of Tempe Homeless Outreach Program Effort (HOPE) travels throughout Tempe in an effort to reach out to the homeless and engage them into needed services. HOPE provides crisis intervention and advocacy services, including limited transportation as a means of reducing the barriers many homeless individuals/families face. I-HELP (Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program) – Located in downtown Tempe. Homeless people are provided with food and a safe place to sleep three days per week. I-HELP is an interfaith cooperative effort of Tempe congregations, Tempe Community Action Agency, Tempe Salvation Army, business and education partners. Tempe Emergency Assistance Ministry (TEAM) – An interfaith coalition of Tempe clergy and social service agencies that have joined together to coordinate and mobilize efforts to provide food and social services through the Tempe faith community. Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development – the Tempe Youth Resource Center is nestled in the heart of Tempe and provides basic supportive services on site such as food, hygiene and clothing in addition to intensive case management services for homeless youth. Showers are offered Monday and Friday mornings from 6-11 am. Individuals often line up starting at 5 am for a chance to take a shower. Approximately 60 showers are taken each day, or 8,000 showers a year. Shampoo, razors, shaving cream, toothbrushes and toothpaste are provided for guests.

I plan to use this research to help and see the option that homeless can get. I will argue that help is being put out there for them but they choose not to use such resources for their problems. (Words: 252)

De Rosa, C. et. al., 1999. Service utilization and runaway youth in Los Angeles, California: Rates and reasons, Journal Of Adolescent Health, vol. 24, 449-458.

Homeless youth face many challenges on the streets. Few homeless

youth are housed in emergency shelters as a result of lack of shelter beds for youth, shelter admission policies and laws, and a preference for greater autonomy. Because of their age, homeless youth have few legal means by which they can earn enough money to meet basic needs. Furthermore, homeless youth face difficulties attending school because of legal guardianship requirements, residency requirements, proper records, and lack of transportation. Many homeless adolescents find that exchanging sex for food, clothing, and shelter is their only chance of survival on the streets. Homeless adolescents often suffer from severe anxiety and depression, low self-esteem, and poor health. Homeless youth benefit from programs, which meet immediate needs first, then help them address other aspects of their lives. Programs, which minimize institutional demands and offer a range of services, have had success in helping homeless youth regain stability. (National Coalition for the Homeless, 200l) Community-based youth programs, especially prevention programs, can successfully prevent and reduce crime at the same time that they help address other problems youth face. These services, not more and longer time in detention or jail, provide the best chance of helping runaway and homeless youth.

I plan to use this research because it provides me with some info of challenges homeless people face on the street on daily bases. I will argue that there is enough resources to help the homeless out and its not being used. (Words: 245)