The Homeless of Flagstaff, Arizona

Do the homeless have enoungh access to resources? Click here to see if the homeless of Flagstaff, Arizona are able to recieve aid in resume prep, food assistance, and other essential resources.

As a volunteer at the local food bank Flagstaff Family Food Center, I have befriended numerous individuals who are currently homeless. I introduced myself as an ally and explained that I am here to hear their voices on whether or not there are enough resources. The debacle I encountered while addressing this question was the shocking discrepancies in the responses from both the homeless and non-homeless individuals. The vast majority of homeless individuals answered that they felt that there weren't enough resources. On the other hand, individuals with homes felt otherwise. One of the reasons that homeowners responded this way can be attributed to services such as Front Door.

Front Door

Front Door is a service based in Coconino County, where individuals who are at risk or who are homeless may receive assistance to divert and prevent homelessness.

"The mission of the Front Door Program is to divert and or prevent homelessness when possible, reduce the amount of time homeless individuals and families spend on waitlists, as well as, place individuals and families with the most appropriate agency for their housing needs in the quickest and most cost-effective manner." - Front Door

With Front Door, a homeless individual may leave a message to be connected to a specialist, who can provide the necessary reources to the individual. As expressed on their site, Front Door services did not start up until 2017, and with its start-up, eliminated that barrier for the homeless of the Flagstaff area for accessing the necessary resources themselves. The homeless individuals that I have spoken with have informed that it is struggle getting connected to such resources, however Front Door eliminates this barrier. The link to Front Door's main site is provided - http://frontdoorofcoconino.org/.

“Prior to January 2017 in Flagstaff, when a person or family was experiencing homelessness, they faced a gauntlet of confusing barriers to accessing services. To help eliminate these barriers, Front Door began initial operation in January 2017, with Community Development Block Grant funds providing operational support to both Flagstaff Shelter Services and Catholic Charities.” - Front Door

Resource Guide

Front Door even offers a resource guide, where an individual who is a need of assistance, whether he/she is homeless or not, may view the listing of all their resources available. The guide has over 50 resources within the Coconino area and lists the phone number, whom the organizations serve, what services they provide, and what hours the resource may be contacted for assistance. Their first listing is for Alcoholics Anonymous. This resource helps individuals receive care for battling their alcohol addiction. This resource is essential and revolutionary, since the homeless community is largely inflicted with alcoholism, so the resource guide not only offers the expected resources, such as food assistance, but really tackles the common causes of homelessness. The resource guide also provides assistance for veterans and individuals who have experienced domestic violence. Front door covers a homeless individual's immediate needs such as shelter and the reasons for why an individual is homeless in the first place such as disability. Please email me, if you have any questions for wondering on how to contact Front Door. I provided the link to the resource guide below.

https://nau.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/Front-Door-Resource-List.pdf