Human Service Campus forges path from ‘street-to-home’
Staff Reports | Digital Free Press
The 18th annual Mike McQuaid I Am Home Breakfast, which recognized and celebrated successful journeys from street-to-home and the collective work of 16 nonprofit agencies at the Human Services Campus, raised nearly $900,000 supporting programs and services for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Donations are still being accepted. Almost 700 people attended the breakfast, both in person and online.
Presented by Avondale Toyota, the event is a tribute to Mike McQuaid, one of the founders of the Human Services Campus. Mr. McQuaid, who passed away in 2020 from COVID-19, was a tireless advocate who truly believed that homelessness could be solved.
“The Mike McQuaid I Am Home Breakfast was a moving, and at times emotional, celebration of the successes of our collaborative work with 16 partner agencies,” said HSC, Inc. Executive Director Amy Schwabenlender, in a prepared statement. “We are constantly overwhelmed by the generosity of those who support the work our incredible team does every day both on the campus and in the broader community.”
The Mike McQuaid I Am Home Breakfast featured stories from formerly homeless individuals now living successful independent lives. HSC Executive Director Amy Schwabenlender and Eric Sperling, managing director of The Social Television Network, co-hosted the event.
Among the stories:
• A young woman who began doing drugs in eighth grade, moving on to heroin and meth that she shared with her mother. After receiving services at HSC and now a successful supervisor at Community Bridges, Inc., she leverages her experiences to help others. Her deeply compelling story includes stints in-and-out of jail for serious crimes, running from the law and experiencing homelessness before turning her life around.
• A former California wildfire fighter who, in his words, “made very bad decisions” that put him in prison for nine years for violent crimes. Knowing that the choice to change his life was all on him, he found support and help at the Human Services Campus following his release in January, beginning with HSC staff member Stacey White, who has been at his side ever since.
Human Service Campus forges path from ‘street-to-home’
Also at the event, Mary Mitchell, co-CEO at Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus Pine Council, provided a different perspective about homelessness through the struggles of her brother, who has passed away.
Now celebrating 17 years of operation, HSC served more than 12,000 unduplicated adults in fiscal year 2021-22, reuniting them with friends and family, if possible, and helping move individuals experiencing homelessness into services and permanent housing.
Mr. McQuaid was a successful businessman, longtime community philanthropist and one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Human Services Campus. He first became active in addressing homelessness after volunteering at the nonprofit Andre House in 1987. Among his many accolades and awards was as the recipient of the first Piper Trust Encore Career Prize in 2013.
