Across Maricopa County, children and families are faced with a multitude of opportunity gaps and inequitable challenges. Challenges that can often disrupt educational success and employment opportunities. For Diamond and her children, the most pressing challenge came from their housing situation and risk of experiencing homelessness.

With the end of her Section 8 housing lease drawing near and nothing available to transition into, Diamond and her children found themselves with no options, nowhere to go and on the verge of homelessness.

“It was a very hard experience,” Diamond recalled as she held back tears. “We didn’t know if we were going to get housed or not, or if we were ever going to get out of this situation.”

It was in this moment Diamond connected with Valley of the Sun United Way’s Mighty Families program for help.

Mighty Families is a Valley of the Sun United Way initiative actualized through MC2026, the organization’s 5-year plan for Mighty Change in Maricopa County. Mighty Families brings together MC2026 partners to remove barriers to success. Through community partner, Chicanos Por La Causa, Mighty Families offers an array of services to stabilize families and provide a clear path to a productive future.

The Mighty Families Community Resource Navigators are a valuable service that helps families in need access crucial community resources. These dedicated advocates assess the family’s needs and determine which resources will most improve their situation while guiding them through the process. This includes navigating families through social safety net program applications, connecting them to emergency medical services and providing financial literacy resources, among other forms of support.

Diamond was matched with Alondra, a community resource navigator who quickly went to work to help her secure a room that very same day. In the hours following, MC2026 partners supplied Diamond and her children with personal hygiene items and gift cards for gas and food.

“Because Mighty Families stepped in, we didn’t have to be out in the cold,” Diamond added.

Through Mighty Families and the resources and support of MC2026 partners, Diamond is now in a safe and stable home of her own, with a better paying job, and looking toward a brighter, more secure future.

No single organization can achieve MIGHTY CHANGE alone. It is through initiatives like Mighty Families and the extensive network of MC2026 partners, that together Valley of the Sun United Way and the community will ensure Maricopa County youth are prepared for educational success and families have access to gainful employment by closing opportunity gaps and addressing systemic inequities.