Phoenix Rescue Mission

1801 S. 35th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009

The Phoenix Rescue Mission was founded in 1952 by six businessmen from Phoenix. It was originally known as the Phoenix Gospel Mission and was originally located on S. 3rd St in Phoenix. The Mission’s goal was to provide an evening meal, Chapel services and clothes to migrant workers and vagrants. This site was chosen because for almost 60 years the mission has been helping people who are unable to help themselves do to their inequality. Throughout the years there have been many different directors but the goal has stayed the same, to help.

The Mission started out serving between 35 and 50 people each day but has now expanded to hold 150 emergency shelter beds, a 21 bed addiction recovery program, career education as well as Chapel services, service countless people each day.They also provide daily necessities to people such as a toothbrush. One might not think that this is very important to a homeless person but there was a study done that shows the relationship between dental issues in homeless and their depression. Minor things can turn into major ones, especially when you are homeless and something as small as brushing your teeth daily could be the difference between life and death for a homeless person.

By giving people career education they have the ability to enter the world and fend for themselves. Some people who have major mental illnesses tend to have trouble holding down a job due to their metal illness and career education can help fix that. By teaching someone a set of specific skills they are able to get survive. An Article by Craig M. Coldwell and William S. Bender talks about how assertive communities such as this one have effectively helped people with mental illness learn to survive in life.

Another thing that shelters such as these do is help people that others don’t want to help, such as ex convicts. Not only do they help ex convicts but it also gives them the ability to survive in the world, legally. But unfortunately not everyone can survive legally, a study done by Stephen Metraux and Dennis P. Culhane examining relationship between shelter use and the reincarceration rate of approximately 50,000 people who were released from a New York State prison. Their study found that about 11.4% of the people involved entered a shelter within two years of release and 32.8% of that group were again imprisoned. It is places like the Phoenix Rescue Mission that help people get back on their feet or give them an alternative way to survive that does not include illegal activities.

This site would relate mostly to the activism theme that will be discussed in this course, because it represents people going out of their way to help others. In this case it is a religious based reason to help others, their website says the God is calling on people to help. But in class we have also spoken about the massive rise in the prison population and the study done by Metraux looks at what happens after imprisonment

- Dejaren Stewart and Brandon Lev


Sources

http://www.phoenixrescuemission.org

Coldwell, Craig M., and William S. Bender. "The Effectiveness of Assertive Community Treatment for Homeless Populations With Severe Mental Illness: A Meta-Analysis." The American Journal of Psychiatry 164.3 (2007): 393-99. PsychiatryOnline | Home. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. .

Coles, Emma, Karen Chan, Jennifer Collins, Gerry M. Humphris, Derek Richards, Brian Williams, and Ruth Freeman. "Decayed and Missing Teeth and Oral-health-related Factors: Predicting Depression in Homeless People." Journal of Psychosomatic Research 71.2 (2011): 108-12. ScienceDirect - Home. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. .

Metraux, Stephen, and Dennis P. Culhane. "HOMELESS SHELTER USE AND REINCARCERATION AFTER PRISON RELEASE." 3.2 (2004): 201-22. Works.bepress.com. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.