Phoenix Rescue Mission honored with two Congressional Awards

PHOENIX — U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko has honored Phoenix Rescue Mission with two Congressional Recognition awards for its impact in the District 8 community this year.

Rep. Lesko’s team honored Phoenix Rescue Mission on April 23 for working closely with the city of Glendale to deploy and manage its homeless worker program, Will Work.

“We’ve spent several years refining our Will Work program, which can be scaled for any city, no matter the city’s size and unique situation,” Nathan Smith, Phoenix Rescue Mission chief program officer, said in a press release.

“Since we first launched it in Glendale, we’ve changed the lives of many individuals by getting them off the streets and offering them real, dignifying work, while connecting them with the resources to end their life on the streets.”

The Will Work program provides day labor opportunities to individuals living on the streets, while Phoenix Rescue Mission contracts with cities to arrange various projects ranging from basic landscaping to brickmaking.

The focus is to bring meaningful solutions to people experiencing homelessness, instill a sense of dignity and self-worth and give neighborhoods a cleaner and safer appearance.

Additionally, a Congressional award for Phoenix Rescue Mission’s Criminal Justice Diversion Program was presented by the office of Rep. Lesko on April 6, recognizing the nonprofit for partnering with the Peoria Police Department and various criminal justice systems to implement its program.

The Criminal Justice Diversion program was designed to break the cycle of endless litigation by providing a path to recovery and self-sufficiency to repeat offenders.

Phoenix Rescue is partnering with the cities of Peoria, Goodyear, Avondale, Surprise, Scottsdale and Glendale on similar public-private programs that address food insecurity, homeless outreach, crime and other social issues.

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