Meet Mike and Liz
After two days on foot in triple-digit temperatures, Mike and his teenage daughter, Liz, finally arrived where they knew it would be okay to stay for more than a night: UMOM’s family emergency shelter. In tears, exhausted and sunburned from their journey, Mike was overwhelmed with emotion that there was a comfortable and safe space for him and Liz. No longer would they have to keep moving [...]
Thank You for Keeping UMOM Families Cool in Summer!
The new chiller being installed at UMOM's emergency shelter. Last year, you helped us raise funds during our “Keeping it Cool” campaign, when the air conditioning units at UMOM’s emergency family shelter broke and needed to be replaced during our record-breaking summer. Because so many families lost their homes after COVID-19 job layoffs, UMOM’s waiting list grew during the summer of 2020, one of the [...]
Meet Andrew
It was getting harder for Andrew and his wife – with a blended family of 12 – to find a landlord who was willing to rent to them. They had been kicked out of their latest home in Georgia when the owner discovered the family’s size. Homes with room enough for a dozen people at once were not only difficult to come by, they were too expensive [...]
Emotional Support and Therapy Pets
Walking through the breezeways at UMOM New Day Centers’ main emergency shelter campus or Halle Women’s Center, you might run across a dog or two or three. Or a cat. Or a bearded dragon. While UMOM is a facility that is designed for families and individuals facing homelessness, some of our clients have emotional support or therapy animals they need to help them manage anxiety, post-traumatic stress [...]
Finding Safety in the Valley With Each Other
“I don’t even want to think about what we would have done without UMOM.” ~ Diane Meet Diane Diane and her husband, Deshawn, had a good life with their blended family of five kids and one on the way. They were living in the northern Arizona town of Holbrook, where he had a job in the HVAC industry that paid well. They were renting a house that [...]
Support UMOM New Day Centers on #AZGivesDay 2021
Because Homelessness Should Be Brief, Rare and Nonrecurring While most people familiar with UMOM New Day Centers’ work know we provide emergency shelter for families, single women and youth experiencing homelessness, they are not necessarily familiar with the wide range of services we offer to our clients to prevent and end homelessness. Nor are they likely to know how many everyday items we go through to support [...]
A Familiar Neighborhood
"Every person I have interacted with is amazing. From the guy who runs the leaf blower to administration, it's an empowering place to be." ~ Jena March is the month we welcome spring, and a time of year we often associate with new beginnings. For many of our UMOM New Day Centers clients, coming to our family emergency shelter provides that opportunity: to overcome barriers that led [...]
COVID-19 Vaccinations
UMOM is Doing its Part to Protect People in our Community It’s probably safe to say most of us have developed COVID-19 fatigue: having to steer clear of public places as much as possible, keep our distance and wear masks when we are near others and suspend in-person celebrations and gatherings with family and friends. It’s much the same at work, with employers implementing safety protocols and [...]
A Fresh Start
"I believe this is where I need to be at the moment. I've never received service like this, with so much care. It's so refreshing." ~ Randy Families who come to UMOM's family shelter come in all forms, entire families headed by mom and dad, single moms and also single dads. Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau find more fathers than ever are raising children on their [...]
Hope in 2021
“I never realized how much I love talking to people - this is all new to me and I like it!” Meet Carrie. She was running out of places to go by Thanksgiving, hoping she and her preschool-aged child wouldn’t have to turn to living on the streets during the holidays. It had been just seven months since “Carrie” (we have changed her name and a few [...]
MLK DAY
Today, we honor the legacy of the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential leaders of the civil rights era in the 1950s and 1960s, whose work for equality paved the way for generations his timeless words continue to motivate young and old Americans alike, as well as people all over the world. Dr. King was many things: a father, a minister, a [...]
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Like most of us, Jo is breathing a sigh of relief that 2020 is over. Her teenage son, a bystander shot in a random drive-by shooting, is recovered and doing well. She has a good full-time job and was recently promoted to the management team at a call center, where she helps train others. And for the first time [...]
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