PHOENIX, Ariz. (Dec. 7, 2022):  The 18th annual Mike McQuaid I Am Home Breakfast will recognize and celebrate successful journeys from street to home and the collective work of 16 nonprofit agencies at the Human Services Campus (HSC) Wednesday, Dec. 14 from 7:30-9 a.m. in the Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom at the Arizona Biltmore, 2400 E. Missouri Ave. in Phoenix.

The free event also can be viewed virtually. To register, visit www.iamhomebreakfast.org.

Presented by Avondale Toyota, the fund-raising celebration is named in honor of one of the founders of the Human Services Campus, Mike McQuaid, a tireless advocate for the homeless who truly believed that homelessness could be solved. McQuaid passed away in 2020 from COVID-19.

Proceeds will support HSC’s mission as a collaborative force of the 16 partner organizations on the campus near downtown Phoenix to end homelessness.

The Mike McQuaid I Am Home Breakfast will feature stories from formerly homeless individuals now living successful independent lives. The stories will be told through short videos and on-stage conversations with them moderated by HSC Executive Director Amy Schwabenlender and Eric Sperling, Managing Director of The Social Television Network (STN), who will co-host the breakfast event.

Among the stories:

• A young woman who began doing drugs in eighth grade, moving on to heroin and meth that she shared with her mother. Now a successful supervisor at Community Bridges, Inc., she leverages her experiences to help others. Her deeply compelling story includes stints in-and-out of jail for serious crimes, running from the law and experiencing homelessness before turning her life around.
• A former California wildfire fighter who, in his words, “made very bad decisions” that put him in prison for nine years for violent crimes. Knowing that the choice to change his life was all on him, he found support and help at the Human Services Campus following his release in January, beginning with staff member Stacey White who has been at his side ever since.

Also scheduled to be interviewed live is Mary Mitchell, co-CEO at Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus Pine Council who will provide a different perspective about homelessness through the struggles of her brother, who has passed away.

Now celebrating 17 years of operation, HSC served more than 12,000 unduplicated adults in fiscal year 2021-22, reuniting them with friends and family, if possible, and helping move individuals experiencing homelessness into services and permanent housing.

McQuaid was a successful businessman, longtime community philanthropist and one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Human Services Campus. He first became active in addressing homelessness after volunteering at the nonprofit Andre House in 1987.  Among his many accolades and awards was as the recipient of the first Piper Trust Encore Career Prize in 2013.

For more information, visit www.hsc-az.org.