Respiro provides temporary shelter for those experiencing homelessness
Staff Reports | Digital Free Press
The Human Services Campus, which is the 13-acre social services campus between Phoenix City Hall and the capitol, recently received a generous grant from the Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation to support Respiro, a 100-bed temporary shelter found atop that swatch of land.
The grant, officials there say, will be used by HSC for operational expenses at Respiro (Spanish for respite), which officially opened on March 25 last year with $1.6 million in funding from the municipality of Phoenix.
“Respiro provides an important resource for individuals experiencing homelessness to find temporary, safe shelter,” said HSC Executive Director Amy Schwabenlender, in a prepared statement.
“This generous grant from the Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation ensures our ability to continue our efforts to address homelessness in our neighborhood and in the city of Phoenix.”
Respiro was built to provide additional shelter for individuals living on the street in the area surrounding the Campus (7th Street to 15th Avenue and Jefferson Street to the railroad tracks) who are:
- close to being housed and have a housing voucher but are unable to find housing due to market conditions and
- highly vulnerable individuals experiencing significant barriers to housing. This population includes individuals of advanced age and young adults, medically vulnerable, domestic violence survivors, veterans and individuals discharged from hospitals.