The rain is here, and our incredible staff at FSS is constantly adapting to address the most pressing needs every day for people experiencing homelessness. With our community facing repeated rounds of flash flooding – caused by the burn scars created by the wildfires – new dangers are faced by our most vulnerable neighbors needing shelter from the storms. Unlike most weather events that are measured in days or weeks, monsoons are measured throughout seasons – and this time of year disproportionately affects people who are living in poverty and without access to the protection of safe housing.
Inclement weather always creates a busy season at FSS, and our dedicated staff is fielding calls, meeting with clients, digging up resources, and making community connections to ensure everyone they encounter has access to critical, life-saving services and an opportunity to move out of homelessness, for good!
Our work is hard, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to sheltering displaced neighbors. Fortunately, we are not alone in our efforts, and FSS got a boost of inspiration this summer when participating in the National Alliance to End Homelessness annual conference in Washington DC. Among hundreds of people with lived-experience, advocates, and service providers from around the country, the Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Jeff Olivet, acknowledged the difficulty of our collective mission to end homelessness and reminded us to “transform our frustration into hope and our outrage into a force for change.”
As our organization grows, evolves services, and welcomes new staff, we learn to embrace the storms and the tension and allow it to empower and strengthen us. Our FSS staff and community partners will continue to find solutions to problems most people think are too big to solve, and when the clouds part, we will be ready to face the challenges that come with the season ahead.
Thank you for helping us build a thriving community. When we invest in the potential of our most vulnerable neighbors, we make eradicating homelessness in Flagstaff possible.
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.
