This past week we celebrated the first day of spring – and wow is it really starting to feel like it around here! The sun is shining warm, the winds are kicking up, and new life is popping up everywhere we look. Last weekend I got home from a few days out of town, and pulling into my driveway I was immediately struck by this image – a light snow was falling and some had already started to pile up on the ground. But underneath the dusting I could see daffodil bulbs starting to sprout up. I saw those resilient little bulbs and I couldn’t help but cheer them on because as we know all too well, the Flagstaff weather can be fickle – so those little sprouts are in for a struggle. But there are bright days ahead!
New life and new beginnings are visible everywhere, especially at the Shelter. Covid has been hard for our team and our clients, and while the pandemic is by no means over, we are starting to feel the spring winds of change like a breath of new life through our doors. We are continuing to gain momentum and make big strides in housing and working with the most vulnerable people in our community – the chronically ill, folks dealing with serious mental illness, veterans, the elderly and the list goes on.
And the reality is that we have learned so, so much during the long dark winter that has been the last two years. Our policies and service delivery continues to shift constantly to address the unique and changing needs of the individuals and community that we serve in an ever-fluctuating national climate. And now we are entering yet another new chapter (which we can’t wait to fill you in on!) of how we are able to provide emergency shelter and permanent housing options for this community.
Kind of like those little daffodil bulbs, FSS has been laying in wait – learning, growing, connecting with partners and building our team – all so that we are ready for exactly when the time is right to enter this new phase for our community, but most importantly, for our clients.
Ross Schaefer is the executive director at Flagstaff Shelter Services, the largest emergency shelter in northern Arizona. The nonprofit is open around the clock to anyone in crisis, regardless of faith, mental health or sobriety. In addition to offering emergency shelter for individuals, the organization also provides permanent, stable housing to families experiencing homelessness. An average of two families a week are moved into permanent housing and more than 85 percent of them do not return to homelessness.
