Imagine if you had nothing – nowhere to sleep safely at night, no job, and no belongings. Imagine the support systems you have with friends and family didn’t exist – imagine, just for a moment, what it would be like to be homeless.
Homelessness is a serious problem that affects the lives of hundreds of thousands across the country. In the Greater Phoenix area alone, there are 4,300 homeless families. That means that 40% of the homeless population in Greater Phoenix is families, struggling day-to-day to survive. If you look even closer at those numbers, 80% of those homeless families are made up of single mothers that have 3 kids all under the age of 10. All of this together, means that the average age of 90% of the homeless population in Phoenix, is only 9 years old.
Family Promise of Greater Phoenix is a non-profit organization that has saved over 500,000 families in need since they were founded 27 years ago. With an incredible network of partners and volunteers, they are able to rescue 100 families per year (350 individuals, 250 of those are children). Their 60 day program provides families with a safe place to stay, meals, counselling, job training, nutrition and wellness classes, as well as stress and money management classes. They have also developed a 12 month long aftercare program which follows up and continues to support their families even after they have graduated from the 60 day program.
On October 17-18, 2015 Family Promise of Great Phoenix will be hosting the Fifth Annual Cardboard City event at Scottsdale Stadium. Cardboard City is a family friendly event that brings together people from across the valley to raise awareness, donations and build hygiene kits that are handed out to the people living on the streets.
What is it exactly? Before the event, build your own cardboard house! It can be as big, small, creative or colorful as you like. We will all be spread out along the field of Scottsdale Stadium, creating our own little city made of cardboard houses. We will all sleep overnight on the field in our cardboard creations. There will be judges at the event to pick the best houses as well as live music, food and fun.
- $15 general admission let’s you enjoy the festival, participate in the activities and listen to live music!
- $25 Admission let’s you enjoy the festival, participate in the activities, listen to live music, spend the night, and participate in the Cardboard box decorating contest.
Part of this event and partnership also means that we will be taking collections for the hygiene kits that are put together at Cardboard City 2015. These hygiene kits are filled with simple items like: a washcloth, sunscreen, deodorant, and basic necessities.
MCLife will be collecting garbage bags. All you need to do is tie two garbage bags together with a rubber band and put them in one of our donation boxes. The donation boxes will be set up in the next few weeks at 3 different locations for our residents and employees.
MCLife is both excited and honored to be partnering with Family Promise of Greater Phoenix to raise awareness and support for homelessness.
Follow Greater Promise of Greater Phoenix on Facebook, and Twitter for updates and more information.
