Justa Center in the news
View the Justa Center Media Kit.
For media inquiries, please contact info@justacenter.org
A1 Garage Doors
August 3, 2021 from ABC 15
25,000 bottles of water for Justa Center thanks to A1 Garage Doors giving back.
Arizona Eviction Moratorium Ends
Resource center braces themselves for more to come.
August 2, 2021 PHOENIX, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY/CBS)
Homeless and profoundly at risk: Older people make up a growing number of deaths on the streets
December 18, 2020 from AZCentral - A growing number of metro Phoenix's older residents are living out their final years without a home — and ultimately dying on the streets where they've been sleeping.
Justa Center, a resource center for people experiencing homelessness who are 55 or older, has seen a 30% increase in people seeking service each year for the past several years, according to Executive Director Wendy Johnson.
Phoenix non-profit checking in on vulnerable seniors amid the pandemic
December 9, 2020 from AZFamily - The pandemic is leaving many seniors isolated as they try to stay home and stay safe. But one group is going out of their way to keep tabs on a group of especially-vulnerable older adults. It's part of Justa Center's Ambassadors of Care program. They check in on formerly-homeless seniors who have recently been placed into housing.
Homeless Valley veteran finally gets unemployment after long struggle
December 8, 2020 from ABC 15 - It doesn’t take much to lose nearly everything. No one knows that better than Cedrick, a Valley veteran who lost his job to the pandemic, and asked us not to use his last name. “A lot of companies I worked for,” he said, “furniture stores, warehouses driving box trucks, they shut down.”
Phoenix community comes together to help homeless veteran
December 7, 2020 from AZFamily - A 55-year-old Army veteran is getting back on his feet because of the kindness of his fellow Phoenicians. "It's been a true blessing. I really appreciate all the efforts of everyone," said Miles Oliver. Back in August, Oliver found himself going through a tough time. Oliver had missed a rent payment, got evicted from his apartment, and had been living out of his car for several months.
More seniors slip into homelessness as affordable housing crisis deepens
November 20, 2020 from ABC 15 - For 13 years, Linda Freed of Mesa has called her 800 square foot apartment home. She is comfortable there, with a lifetime worth of trinkets and memorabilia throughout the two-bedroom, one-bath place at Anderson Apartments, a 55 years and over complex in Mesa. "I feel like this is my home. And I know how to get around," she said.
Arizona's homeless face barriers when voting
October 19, 2020 from AZ Family - Arizona's homeless population faces barriers when it comes time to vote. ID requirements, getting to and from the polls, and having a mailing address can all be challenges for people experiencing homelessness.
Elderly and Homeless: America’s Next Housing Crisis
September 30, 2020 from New York Times Magazine Over the next decade, the number of elderly homeless Americans is projected to triple — and that was before Covid-19 hit. In Phoenix, the crisis has already arrived.
Developer offers $100,000 donation to City of Phoenix in exchange for tax break
September 25, 2020 from AZ Family - A Chicago developer is offering to give the City of Phoenix a $100,000 donation to fund affordable housing projects if city leaders approve tax breaks for a new high-rise apartment building. Even though downtown Phoenix is experiencing a real estate boom, Phoenix City Council is considering using a tax incentive called GPLET, meant to spur development in areas where most don't want to build.
Phoenix-area homeless veteran's car broke down, shop pitches in to help
August 28, 2020 from AZ Family - On a Friday afternoon, Miles Oliver is rifling through the back of his 2007 Ford Fusion. "Seems like things are not working out for people our age anymore," 55-year-old Oliver said. The car's a little messy because this is where the Army veteran has been living since early April. "It's just a little disheartening to have to rely on social services when you've served your country and you're not a criminal," Oliver said.
Maricopa County is investigating 243 potentially heat-related deaths in 2020
August 25, 2020 from ABC 15 - Excessive heat is especially dangerous for the elderly and the unsheltered. Valley veteran Miles Oliver was overcome by heat in May. At the time he was living in his car and working as a pizza delivery driver. "It all caved on me right there in the middle of the delivery, the first delivery. I couldn't breathe. I was shaking. I was cold. I was vomiting. And I was in pain," he said.
Older, Homeless Arizona Adults Struggle Even More Due To Heat And Coronavirus
August 24, 2020 from KJZZ - Older adults experiencing homelessness right now are struggling. Because of the coronavirus, many public places like libraries are closed. And then, there is the heat. Many of those older adults go to Justa Center in downtown Phoenix to cool off and take a break. Justa Center is one of the only day programs for homeless seniors. People 55 and older are welcome to come in, cool off, get some food, even get their mail. But this summer has been brutal. Excessive heat warnings plus the coronavirus means everything is just harder.
Phoenix's homeless risk death amid record-breaking heat
August 14, 2020 from AZFamily - As Phoenix swelters through its hottest summer on record, people experiencing homelessness are finding themselves in life-or-death situations. "It's very deadly," said Robert Ledoux, who was catching a break from the heat at Phoenix's Justa Center for homeless seniors. "It's gonna get deadly pretty fast if you don't have water."
Fact Finders: Eviction concerns under CARES Act a potential ‘tsunami of terror'
July 16, 2020 from KOLD - Arizona’s ban on evictions is set to expire in a week. The moratorium under the CARES Act, which placed a 120-day moratorium on evictions, is set to expire on July 25. Local and state leaders and advocacy groups have been putting pressure on Gov. Doug Ducey to extend his current executive order, which was issued on March 24. It expires on July 22.
How to help metro Phoenix homeless population during summer heat
June 10, 2020 from The Arizona Republic - The official start of summer may still be weeks away, but the notorious Arizona heat has already taken hold of metro Phoenix. For people experiencing homelessness, this is the deadliest time to be living without shelter. At least 3,767 are living without shelter in Maricopa County, according to the most reason point-in-time count.
The hidden homeless: Growing number of older people living on the streets
January 6, 2020 from Cronkite News - Viola Campbell’s voice shakes as she talks about the steep drop between the life she expected in retirement and her reality. “I’ve never been homeless before in my life. I’ve always had jobs,” Campbell said. Still, this is where she is at 75 – looking for kindnesses at Justa Center, a daytime resource center serving people 55 or older.
Arresting people for sleeping outside is 'cruel,' U.S. Supreme Court affirms
December 24, 2019 from AZ Central - Tommie Jones was freezing. His hands and feet stung from the piercing desert cold that swept through Phoenix this time last year. The 64-year-old had been living on the streets in the Valley on and off for five years. Every night presented the same struggle: Where would he sleep? That particular night, he ran into a friend who'd assembled a small shelter out of blankets. It was almost daybreak, and his friend had somewhere to be so he let Jones warm up in his refuge.
Aid organizations: Senior homelessness on the rise in Arizona
October 8, 2019 from AZ Family - Viola Campbell’s voice shakes as she talks about the steep drop between the life she expected in retirement and her reality. “I’ve never been homeless before in my life. I’ve always had jobs,” Campbell said. Still, this is where she is at 75 – looking for kindnesses at Justa Center, a daytime resource center serving people 55 or older.
74-Year-Old Phoenix Woman Became Homeless After $50 Rent Increase
September 21, 2019 from Phoenix New Times - Earlier this summer, her rent rose by $50, and 74-year-old Grace became homeless for the first time in her life. Grace, who requested that Phoenix New Times use a pseudonym and withhold other identifying information because she did not want her family to know of her homelessness, said that the senior apartment complex where she lived announced the increase a few months prior. Instead of paying $600 a month for her one-bedroom apartment, she would have to pay $650, Grace recalled.
Climbing from homelessness to give back
May 8, 2018 from Cronkite News - Rudy Soliz was happy, enjoying the life of many Americans, with a good job in construction, a family, a house and cars. “I was living the dream,” Soliz,58, said of the time before he landed where he is today. He works at Justa Center, which helps people 55 and older who are homeless get jobs, housing and such basics as food and showers.