The Genesis Project Board of Directors has identified a building where they believe a multi-faceted homeless shelter could be created, but funding the project is another story.

At 114th Street and Apache Trail in east Mesa stands a 6,000-square-foot building formerly used as the Bread of Life Church, Larry Spiehs, the Genesis Project Board of Directors president, says would be ideal for what the outreach group wants to do.

The building is in unincorporated Maricopa County and, according to property manager Ramesh Somaiya, the land in which the building stands is zoned for commercial uses allowing The Genesis Project to use the facility as it sees fit.

"They have contacted us and have looked at the place," Mr. Somaiya said in a phone interview. "And they are going to come back to us."
Mr. Somaiya says the going rate to rent the building per month is $3,200, but he says the property owner would be willing to work with the outreach effort because of its mission.

"As I understand it, they want to feed the people," he explained. "That is what they are planning and we have no objections to that."

The Genesis Project is a faith-based organization seeking to feed, clothe and rehabilitate the homeless of northern Pinal County, but officials say the scope of the operation is becoming more than the volunteer effort can handle.

The Desert Chapel United Methodist Church, 462 N. Palo Verde Drive in Apache Junction about three miles east of the building the group is looking at, offers the Christian-based organization its kitchen as a makeshift soup kitchen five days a week.

During the summer months the adjacent meeting center is turned into a heat-respite room, officials say.

"I didn’t think your place was big enough to handle helping the people in need here," said Genesis Project Marketing Manager Donald Gibbons during the project’s May 5 meeting of the organization’s current facility. "I was right then and I am right now."

One city of Mesa official says she is seeing a rise in need for outreach services, but not because more people are homeless.

"I can tell you that the number of people seeking assistance has increased," said Lisa Wilson, city of Mesa human services coordinator, of what she called people who she considers "at-risk."

Ms. Wilson described an "at-risk" individual as someone who still has a roof over his or her head, but because of these tough economic times where layoffs and salary cuts are a reality, more family units are seeking out assistance to feed their families.

"We are seeing a lot of that," she said in a phone interview of the raise in at-risk people seeking assistance. "They are trying to stretch those dollars to keep shelter over their heads."

Ms. Wilson says the creation of a multi-faceted homeless shelter on the outskirts of the city of Mesa would help folks who live in that area.

"Those people in those outlying areas don’t have access to those services," she explained of outreach organizations within Mesa city limits. "As far as having an additional homeless shelter on the outskirts of the county, that would be great."

In fiscal year 2009-10, the city of Mesa is anticipated to allocate $322,646 to outreach organizations geared toward addressing the many issues associated with homelessness, Ms. Wilson explained.

Outreach efforts such as Save The Family Foundation of Arizona, East Valley Men’s Center, La Mesita Family Homeless Shelter and the Autumn Domestic Violence Shelter are anticipated to receive funding from the city, Ms. Wilson said.

According to Ms. Wilson, the allocations have been proposed to Mesa City Council, but the final decision will come in June when council approves its fiscal year 2009-10 general budget.

All funds allocated for these efforts come out of the city’s general fund, Ms. Wilson said. An additional $150,000 could be headed to these organizations — with the exception of the Save The Family Foundation — by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mike Boos, Paz de Cristo director, agrees need is growing in the East Valley.

"What we are seeing mostly are people who either moved here to get a job and then it disappeared or we are seeing people who lost their jobs and trying to do the best they can," he said. "We are seeing a lot of new faces a lot of the time."

Paz de Cristo, 424 W. Broadway Ave. in Mesa, operates a soup kitchen 365 days a year where any person who comes to the facility for aid will receive a hot meal, Mr. Boos said. On the second Tuesday of every month food boxes are distributed.

In addition to outreach efforts offering food, Paz de Cristo — which is a Christian-based effort — offers job placement and patrons can get a photo ID card created.

According to Mr. Boos, Paz de Cristo handed out 16,000 food boxes last calendar year and served 71,500 meals.

Ms. Boos says the biggest challenge facing Paz de Cristo is the stark dip in monetary donations from the community.

"We have plenty of food, but our major problem is with donations of cash," he said of challenges making utility payments and paying staff members. "We have had to make some adjustments in our staffing and programs."

The need for outreach efforts is also being felt in Apache Junction, which is the catalyst for the creation of homeless shelter in the outskirts of both Mesa and Apache Junction, Genesis Project officials contend.

According to a meal tracking report, in April 2008, 1,384 individuals were served food by the Genesis Project and in April of this year the volunteer group fed 2,095 individuals.

In addition to providing an actual homeless shelter for the Apache Junction area, Mr. Spiehs says he wants to be able to offer showers, day-to-day accommodations and rehabilitation services out of the proposed building.

"It can be turned into a great facility, but it will take a fortune," he said during the May 5 meeting. "But a fortune we don’t have."

Primarily relying on donations and volunteer sweat, Mr. Spiehs says the roughly $1,000 in monthly donations doesn’t come close to the asked $3,200 in rent.

"We have done it all on shoe strings and faith," Mr. Spiehs explained. "We have been climbing up the blackboard, but sliding down."

David Anderson, a retired doctor residing in Gold Canyon who is on the board of directors, says the demographic of people the outreach group assists is changing and doing so rapidly.

"They are more people just showing up," he told the board of directors. "People just can’t afford to eat."

Mr. Spiehs agreed.

Registered members are encouraged to comment on this topic by clicking “reply” in the upper right corner of this entry. Comments posted online may be used in an upcoming edition of the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon Independent. For more news, visit http://circulation.newszap.com to purchase an e-Subscription. As an e-Subscriber, you will be able to view the actual newspaper pages online, including every story, feature, advertisement and photo