Welcome to the Phoenix Rescue Mission’s News Room
The Phoenix Rescue Mission has been serving the Valley’s homeless since 1952. Much has changed since we occupied a humble building and chapel on South Third Street in Downtown Phoenix. The Third Street kitchen served roughly 40 meals a day. Fast forward to 2008, and the Phoenix Rescue Mission serves 5,600 meals a week and has two locations: The main campus with shelter and kitchen located at 1801 S. 35th Ave. and the Family Outreach Donation Center on W. Thomas and 35th Ave. One thing has remained the same, and that is our commitment To Rescuing Lives, To Saving Lives, To Changing Lives and To Serving Lives.

Contacting and Visiting the Mission
The Phoenix Rescue Mission is home for up to 150 men overnight. Out of respect for our guests, we ask that reporters and other individuals contact and/or visit the Mission during regular business hours (M-F, 8 AM - 4 PM). If you would like to visit the Mission at a different time, please make prior arrangements and we will try to accommodate you. Please note, the Phoenix Rescue Mission is a working men’s shelter, many of our clients are not on property during the day. The Mission is located at 1801 N. 35th Ave. When visiting the Mission, please use the entrance on Cocopah. Visitors can pull up to the gate to enter into the volunteer/visitor parking spaces. Reporters wishing to interview clients receiving emergency food boxes at our Family Outreach Center should make arrangements with the Director of Public Relations prior to coming on site. Signed photographic releases are mandatory since children are present.

Guidelines for Interviewing and Photographing Clients

All media inquiries should be directed to the Phoenix Rescue Mission's Public Relations Director:

Nicole M. Peña
Director of Public Relations
(602) 272-4662 (direct line)
(602) 516-8576 (cell)
npena@phoenixrescuemission.org

Phoenix Rescue Mission
P.O. Box 6708
Phoenix, AZ 85005-6708


When visiting the Mission, you will be accompanied by a staff member the entire time you are with us.

We ask that you please respect the privacy of our clients and refrain from photography unless consent is given. Anyone with a lanyard and a name badge is part of our addiction recovery program and must sign a separate release form in order to be photographed. Our transient clients have not signed any release forms, and sometimes they will object to a photo. If you wish to take photos that could identify an individual, please discuss this with your staff host. Usually an announcement will be made and anyone who does not want a photo will simply leave the area. If you are interested in speaking with a client, meal time is often the best time to schedule an appointment.

The following is a schedule of our meal times:
Breakfast = 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. Lunch = 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dinner = 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.


Current Press Release:

November 11, 2009
Active Duty National Guard Soldiers to serve homeless this Veterans Day

Contact: Nicole Peña, (602) 272-4662 / (602) 516-8576 or npena@phoenixrescuemission.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Phoenix - Sergeant Crystal Reidy describes moving from abandoned buildings to dilapidated houses to living in a van with straightforward coolness. Unfortunately, she was not describing her latest deployment in Iraq, but her life as a homeless child.

Sergeant Reidy and members from the 123rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment with the Arizona National Guard will serve dinner at the Phoenix Rescue Mission on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The 123rd just returned from Ealad, Iraq in August.

For Reidy, serving a meal at a homeless shelter is personal.

"Because of the National Guard, I was able to break the cycle of homelessness," said Reidy, who joined the Guard right after high school graduation. "Without the Guard I would have started out my life as a homeless person. It is nice to be able to give back."

At its annual Veterans Day Dinner, Veterans will be pinned with a patriotic ribbon and served by active duty personnel. The Phoenix Rescue Mission shelters between 16 and 22 homeless Veterans nightly. Many more Veterans living on the streets come to the Mission daily for hot meals. Mission staff believes 85 homeless individuals who once donned a military uniform will attend the Veterans Day Dinner. According to the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients, Veterans account for 23 percent of all homeless people.

Reidy's message for helping the homeless is simple - treat all people with dignity and respect.

"My family was homeless most of my childhood. I always remember the little moments - a stranger who made me feel like I mattered," said Reidy. "Those little moments are the reason I am standing behind the serving line this Veterans Day instead of in it."

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About Phoenix Rescue Mission

Founded in 1952, Phoenix Rescue Mission provides food, shelter, chapel and other services to the homeless and working poor people of metropolitan Phoenix. Hundreds of hot meals are served daily, showers and clean clothing are available, 180 beds provide shelter for men nightly, and clothing and food boxes are given to families in need. A 12-month, spiritually-based addiction recovery program is available for up to 20 men at one time.

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Previous Releases:

July 17, 2009 | Ballard Spahr Law Firm and Safeway partner with the Phoenix Rescue Mission to host community water drive

June 12, 2009 | Arizona Association of Community Managers and Phoenix Rescue Mission Partner to Turn Hunger into Hope for Children This Summer

January 22, 2009 | Phoenix Rescue Mission to give autographed Kurt Warner football to winner of Souper Bowl of Caring

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February 2010

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