Making their voices heard
Led by counselors from Southwest Behavioral Health, the homeless marched on the Capitol to bring attention to the need for more housing and services.

Dozens of homeless people, along with their counselors, marched on the Capitol to draw attention to the need for more housing and programs for the homeless.
Crossing Wesley Bolin Plaza on March 28, they marched from a homeless center on West Jackson Street, carrying a banner that read: “No housing plus no shelter equals death to the homeless” and “homeless are people, not criminals.”
Marchers gathered near the Frank Luke monument and passed around a bullhorn, many speaking of the day-to-day problems that come from having no shelter. A few said they had had their official identity cards stolen numerous times. One speaker said the homeless are often asked for ID to get a replacement card for the one that’s been stolen.
Carolyn Shaw, 40, told the crowd that the homeless should not be treated like they are invisible. Shaw, homeless herself, later said she has been sleeping under balconies and bridges and behind bushes. The hardest part about being homeless, she added, was trying to keep her few possessions safe.
Shaw said her own state ID card had been stolen at least twice.
De Grisby of Terros, which offers drug-treatment programs, gave an impassioned speech aimed at others on the Capitol grounds. She directed her comments to those “dressed in business suits sitting down to a catered lunch.”
A legislative luncheon sponsored by the Arizona State Parks Department was being set up nearby on the Senate lawn.
“The men and women that are homeless are our responsibility,” Grisby said. “The price of the suit that you have on now can feed and house a homeless man or woman for four weeks.”
Grisby also said police should do their job —stop crime —and not harass the homeless.
According to a March 13 Maricopa County news release, a recent count indicated that more than 2,800 people were living on the streets throughout the county. Of that, the city of Phoenix had the greatest number of homeless people — at 2,236.
The countywide count included 20 families with 32 children.
The count represented a 38 percent increase in the number of homeless people in Maricopa County over the previous year. The news release cautioned, however, that the rise could also reflect a better counting method.
The January count by the Maricopa Association of Governments will help to determine how much money the county receives for homeless services from the federal government. It has been getting about $20 million a year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the news release said.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors, in a 23-city survey, cited mental illness and lack of services — including treatment programs as the leading causes of homelessness. The survey included Phoenix.
The mayors conference, in a Dec. 14 news release, added: “Other causes cited, in order of frequency, include lack of affordable housing, substance abuse and the lack of needed services, low-paying jobs, domestic violence, prisoner re-entry, unemployment and poverty.”
City officials also reported that emergency shelters have to turn people away because they are booked to capacity.
Shaw, who spoke at the rally, told a reporter she has had to sleep on the streets because there was often no room at the downtown Phoenix shelter.
The march was led by counselors for Southwest Behavioral Health Services at the Day Resource Center for the homeless,1125. W. Jackson St.