Holly Yzquierdo

On a cold and rainy November night, 7th and 8th graders from Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.,  learned about homelessness in a way that would change their lives forever. The students and church leaders had been planning and working toward this night for three months. Patricia Jacques, a case manager for Catholic Charities homeless services, was invited to speak to the students and have a frank discussion about homelessness.

Michelle Tremblay is a Canadian who fell in love with Arizona. She started spending her winters in the Valley of the Sun five years ago.

Michelle has enjoyed volunteering her whole life. Now that she is retired, she has more time to devote to helping others. Last year, she joined a local women’s group. The ladies wanted to do their part to help the less fortunate. They collected purses and filled them with toiletries and donated them to domestic violence shelters.

Normally, a teenager would be excited to visit a new State, but Emily wouldn’t get to sight see or make new friends. She was forced to walk the streets to sell her body. At age 15, she got caught by police. She was afraid of what would happen. She had always heard that the police would hurt her and that they couldn’t be trusted.

Deutsch learned about the plight of veterans experiencing homelessness in Arizona and wanted to help. He believes that, “a simple bike can give a person a new found independence, freedom and mobility.” Kid’s Cycles has given two bicycles to Catholic Charities veterans program so far and has agreed to continue to donate bikes in the future.

Students at Westside Head Start (WSHS) learned a lot from the book Even Superheroes Have Bad Days by Shelly Becker and Eda Kaban.