New Leaf helps keep families together
Season for Sharing assists Mesa nonprofit
Corie Billingsley often sees people at the lowest points of their lives.
She is the director of A New Leaf, a Mesa-based nonprofit that helps families navigate the many challenges that come with homelessness and draw a path toward a future where their next meal or sleeping arrangement is no longer a concern.
Billingsley told The Arizona Republic that keeping families together is A New Leaf’s utmost priority, as other places cater only to men or women or children of a certain age. Diversion programs also exist for people who are not yet homeless but are likely to be evicted.
“How do we get you on a financial plan and a housing stability plan to get you to your next step,” Billingsley said. “The main goal is to have families falling apart and to prevent that if at all possible. Keeping the dad at home, keeping dad and mom together, showing the kids that this is an issue but you have a community standing behind you.”
A New Leaf is one of several nonprofits serving families struggling with homelessness with contributions from The Arizona Republic’s Season for Sharing campaign. Season For Sharing raised over $1.8 million last year and gave A New Leaf $30,000 to aid in its work. Other nonprofits aiding homeless people that Season For Sharing has donated to include:
● $30,000 to Child Crisis Arizona, which provides 300 homeless children and youth in the child welfare system with care and 370 foster and adoptive parents with training and support services.
● $25,000 to Central Arizona Shelter Services, which handles shelter and case management for more than 500 family members and children experiencing homelessness.
● $10,000 to Phoenix Rescue Mission to provide beds, meals, recovery from life-controlling issues and a case manager to find permanent housing for 250 homeless women and women with children.
● $7,500 to Arizona Housing to help provide nutritious food support to extremely low-income, formerly homeless, older adult residents, supporting their access to healthy and nutritious food.
Billingsley said homelessness can be especially difficult for children who are often asked to keep up with their schoolwork while not knowing where or when their next meal will be.
“They probably can’t think,” Billingsley said. “And they’re probably not concerned about division – of that of a math problem – if mom didn’t give them dinner. That’s just the reality. And then we label them as a problem child because they’re kind of sitting there and they’re not engaged. Well, who knows what’s on their mind right now? Who knows what they saw last night?”
Billingsley said Arizona requires A New Leaf to notify families seeking its help that it’s obligated to report sightings of physical or emotional abuse in children, which can stoke fears in parents worried they’ll lose custody of their children if they seek help.
“We have to let them know that, but the first thing they say is ‘Are you going to take away my kids?’” Billingsley said. “No, that’s not what we’re saying. We just have to legally let you know that, but no, that is not our intent to take away your children. Our intent is to help and support you. Being homeless does not mean you can’t care for your child – it means you need some assistance to care for your child.”
Billingsley said A New Leaf follows the “Housing First” approach which the National Alliance to End Homelessness defines as “providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life.”
Billingsley said sometimes the best solution for a family involves covering a daycare or car repair payment so a family member can commute to work or a Lyft ride to homeless court and ensure they’re enrolled in social programs without missing important deadlines.
“It’s a whole support system that needs to be revamped a little bit and everybody needs to be on board.”
Stigmas against homeless people and homelessness also provide challenges when proposing solutions. Billingsley said many people suffer from NIMBYism which stands for “Not in my backyard,” a position where someone supports affordable or transitional housing in theory but not if it is near where they live.
She said many people often associate homelessness exclusively to disheveled individuals holding a sign at a street corner or pushing a grocery cart along the sidewalk.
They don’t see the sales clerk who sleeps in their car in the back of a parking lot because the Valley’s skyrocketing cost of living outpaced their income or the sociable college student who couch surfs across their circle of friends because they don’t have anywhere else to go.
Billingsley said A New Leaf welcomes tax-deductible donations and volunteer applications at turnanewleaf.org and encouraged people to support the less fortunate. She also praised other organizations such as UMOM New Day Centers, Family Promise and the Salvation Army as they and others work to end homelessness.
“I think it’s a huge issue,” Billingsley said. “I think we can resolve it if we all work together, but it’s everybody’s issue. It’s not one city over the other – it’s a community thing. And we all gotta pull together to help fix it.”
How to donate
With the help of Republic readers, Season for Sharing has raised and given away more than $70 million to Arizona nonprofits during the last 28 years. Help us continue helping our neighbors in need.
5 ways to give
● Fill out the secure, online form at sharing.azcentral.com.
● Text “SHARING” to 91-999 and click on the link in the text message.
● Go online at facebook.com/seasonforsharing and look for the “DONATE HERE” post.
● Clip the coupon on Page 4A of The Arizona Republic, fill it out and mail it to P.O. Box 29250, Phoenix AZ 85038-9250.
● Scan the QR code with your smartphone camera, click on the link to donate.
Where does the money go?
When you give to Season for Sharing, you’re helping nonprofits that support education, feed the hungry and help struggling families. The Republic pays all administrative costs, so 100% of donations go back to the community.