PHOENIX — Each Monday for the past eight years, Laura Pike of Surprise volunteers at St. Vincent de Paul's Phoenix Dining Room.
"I've made friends down here," Pike said. "I have several of my homeless friends that I get excited to see and they tell me their stories."
She and dozens of volunteers prep and serve food, water and a lending ear.
"They want somebody to listen. I don't have to answer. They just want somebody to listen. So, I do," she said.
St. Vincent de Paul gives out 7,000 bottles of water a day, according to spokesperson Marisol Saldivar.
"That's hard for people to calculate at first, but that's about 6500 gallons of water in a week," Saldivar stated. "If you just think about that for a moment, it makes you realize how much people need water to survive on the streets."
Volunteers like Pike make it a priority to serve others front and center as temperatures in the Valley begin heating up. She was hesitant at first.
"I thought it would be scary coming down here but it's not scary. I mean, I worked back in the kitchen where I thought I was safe, but I've got be out there with the people," Pike said. "It's not scary, and it's incredibly rewarding."
