In March 2017, with donations from the Garcia Family, the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority (IDA), and the Thunderbirds Charities, the Brian Garcia Welcome Center was opened. In addition to honoring the life of Brian Garcia, a frequent volunteer at the campus, the Welcome Center helps clients receive services more expeditiously. The opening of the Welcome Center has allowed the HSC and the Campus to expand our capacity, meet our clients more expediently, and more effectively coordinate services to empower people to end their homelessness. The Welcome Center provides assessments for nearly 500 unduplicated clients each month. Nearly 10% of clients are diverted from homelessness via reunification with family and friends.  In addition, our Street Outreach Program aims to increase client engagements and help individuals navigate all the services available on the Campus.

In April 2022, HSC opened Respiro, a 100-bed “sprung structure” shelter with a wraparound concept that believes in being the stepping stone to ending homelessness.  Campus partner St. Vincent de Paul graciously lent the northern-most part of its Urban Farm to provide the space for HSC’s 6,300-square-foot pre-fabricated building in a community effort to help provide additional shelter to those in the area. In return, the farm will expand onto HSC land to the east.

The area surrounding HSC has seen a drastic rise in homelessness since the pandemic growing from 400 people living in tents on the streets surrounding the campus in January 2021 to more than 1,000 people in October 2022. HSC provides program staff and security at the $1.6 million structure funded by the City of Phoenix.  HSC prioritizes two groups of people for Respiro:

• People camped on the streets surrounding the Campus who have a housing voucher but are unable to find housing due to market conditions and those already accessing services but unable to find shelter.
• Vulnerable people experiencing significant barriers to housing, including individuals of advanced age and young adults, medically vulnerable people, domestic violence survivors, veterans and individuals discharged from hospitals overnight.

Through the process of case management, supportive services and other providers, clients are given direct attention that allows them to fill in the gaps of past attempts that did not allow them to progress towards ending their homelessness.