In November 2005, the Lodestar Day Resource Center (LDRC) opened on the Human Services Campus in downtown Phoenix. A faith-based, non-profit, private, and public model that provides wrap-around services for homeless adults, the Campus uses the power of collaboration to provide solutions to homelessness. Referred to as the “hub” of the Campus, the LDRC welcomes clients, and serves as a gateway for individuals to access an extensive array of human services needed to begin the transformation from crisis to stability and self sufficiency.
We meet clients where they are when they come through our doors, and strive to help them move through three stages at their own pace. We:
- WELCOME & ENGAGE clients into a safe & accepting environment.
- INFORM & CONNECT clients to holistic services & programs.
- INSPIRE & EMPOWER clients to end their homelessness & create positive, long-term life changes.
Through the collaborative approach of the LDRC, clients have access to public restrooms and hydration, a post office, phones, housing assistance, employment services, government benefit eligibility, substance use counseling and 12-step groups, mental health services, identification, GED and computer tutoring, art, yoga, theater, poetry, and other holistic programming. Made up of over ten different agencies, the LDRC serves approximately 300 individuals each day. Public and private partnerships have been and will continue to be the backbone of this project-our successes are a result of the cooperative work of the many compassionate, progressive visionaries in our Valley of the Sun community. We strive to embody social change through true collaboration.
The wrap-around social services that we provide are only a beginning. We know that it is not enough to simply be a tenant for provider agencies. Rather, we must shift paradigms-we must help the chronically homeless to change the way that they perceive their world; we must find creative and innovative ways to inspire hope and motivation.
The LDRC sees clients from all different backgrounds. While the LDRC and the Campus are intended to be "one stop shopping" for homeless services, we cannot offer a "one size fits all" solution that will be implemented across the entire client base. The diversity is extensive, with numerous final outcome possibilities. There is no one goal that is appropriate or expected for all our clients, and we must find the best way to help each individual move towards self-sufficiency.
To do so, we offer holistic programs and workshops such as open-mike poetry, art, yoga, support groups, theater, writing workshops, and quarterly special events, and the “Get Going Café” and the “New Arid Club”; it is our responsibility to motivate, engage, and inspire clients. We promise our clients and our community that we will always be open to new partnerships, new ways of thinking, new programs, and new solutions. We are striving to empower our clients, staff, and community to END HOMELESSNESS.
