PHOENIX — Chavez had been homeless since March, he said, but now he is living at the Respiro Shelter on the Key Campus and volunteering in the dining room. Volunteers choose their shifts and how often they volunteer.
Chavez is just one of the many people in Arizona experiencing homelessness. There were almost 10,000 unhoused people in Maricopa County alone as of January 2025. Just under half of those individuals are in some kind of transition housing or emergency shelter, just like Chavez is.
