Valley of the Sun United Way meets the moment by assessing our community’s most pressing needs, unifying organizations around solutions, and mobilizing support to provide a vital safety net. By strengthening our partner organizations, we help ensure families move beyond crisis toward lasting stability.
Homelessness is a crisis facing Maricopa County. On any given day, more than 9,000 of our neighbors are experiencing homelessness. However, through our partnership with New Life Center, we are able to provide a comprehensive, trauma-informed care model that supports families as they begin rebuilding independent lives.
This impact comes to life through stories like the one below.
When a mother and her young son arrived after fleeing a violent situation, safety could not wait. At New Life Center, families receive more than emergency shelter. Survivors are welcomed into a secure, trauma-informed campus where advocates provide safety planning, case management, and pathways to permanent housing. Children have spaces intentionally designed for healing and normalcy.
New Life Center is also among the small percentage of domestic violence shelters nationwide able to keep pets with families. With only about 20% allowing pets, this support is especially meaningful. For this young boy, being able to keep his dog by his side brought comfort during one of the hardest moments of his life.
“When families arrive at our shelter, they are often leaving everything behind except what they can carry,” said Molly Pino, Development Manager at New Life Center. “Because of the support of community partners like Valley of the Sun United Way, we’re able to offer immediate safety, keep beloved pets with their families, and help survivors move from crisis to stability. This photo captures that turning point.”
“Valley of the Sun United Way admires A New Life Center’s mission to support individuals and families traumatized by domestic violence and human trafficking,” said Samantha Jackson, Community Development and Engagement Director for Housing and Homelessness at Valley of the Sun United Way.
“We don’t often equate victims of trafficking with homelessness, but those who are trafficked usually don’t have their own home to live in,” Samantha added. “Once a person arrives at A New Life Center, they can begin their healing journey while staying in A New Life Center’s temporary housing, taking the steps needed toward regaining self-sufficiency. Providing transitional housing is such a critical intervention.”
Through coordinated partnership and early intervention, families like this one can transition from crisis to safe, stable housing of their own. Domestic violence remains one of the leading drivers of homelessness, with 38% of domestic violence survivors experiencing homelessness at some point in their lives.
This is why Valley of the Sun United Way recognizes the importance of investing early. By convening partners, aligning resources, and stabilizing trusted community providers, Valley of the Sun United Way helps build a network where the housing crisis in Maricopa County is lessened. Each year, over 2,000 individuals are supported through our partnership with New Life Center, and that is just one example of how early intervention changes lives.
