CHANDLER, AZ — Valley cities are getting creative to address homelessness. In Chandler, a community-funded program is growing as leaders ask residents to "change up" how they help the homeless.
Instead of handing a few bucks out your car window, the city is asking you to text that donation so they can use it to change up someone's situation.
From buying new glasses or work boots to covering the cost of a few loads of laundry or breakfast, the neighborhood outreach team uses those funds to cover some of the little things that can be really big things for someone without a home.
"Sort of the same things someone might buy themselves, but now it comes with services," said Riann Balch with Chandler Neighborhood Resources.
The team uses those moments to get the conversation going and then connects the unhoused to more services with the hope of finding everyone a home or at least a regular place to shower and sleep.
Everyone on the outreach team has also been there before, adding a relatability for the people they approach on the street.
Manaja and Christopher Williams found themselves living out of their car with an infant for five months. After connecting with the outreach team, ChangeUp funds bought them a tank of gas and helped them obtain birth certificates needed to qualify for more family services, ultimately leading to permanent housing.
Christopher says the biggest thing they got from the program was hope.
"It got pretty dark, but seven to ten minutes into our conversation we were able to see the light — they gave us a lot of hope."
You can text the word 'ChangeUp' to 44-321 any time to make a tax-deductible donation.
