Homeless Shelters Around Phoenix Are Full. His Phone Is the Unofficial Hotline for Struggling Families.

Austin Davis, a 26-year-old poet and advocate for homeless individuals, has become the last resort for families experiencing homelessness in the Phoenix area. For around a year, Davis' phone has been inundated with desperate pleas for assistance from across the Phoenix metropolitan region. A school employee sought Davis' aid for a homeless family, but found no shelter space available.

Could Davis arrange a hotel room for them? A mother of five, residing in a storage unit, turned to a homeless services organization for aid. They advised her to contact Davis. A panhandling mother with her six children had passersby give her Davis' phone number, telling her he might be able to offer shelter. "I feel like the worst mother in the world," she texted him.

Almost every person who has reached out to Davis, a homeless advocate, first contacted 211 for assistance, only to discover it could take months to receive a shelter or housing placement. Davis' phone has transformed into the unofficial hotline for emergency shelter. Caseworkers, teachers, social workers, police, and hospital employees have called and texted him, requesting his help for families without a place to go.

Even representatives from the official 211 channel and the Family Housing Hub have directed individuals to him. Davis' transformation into the de facto advocate of last resort highlights the shortcomings of the Maricopa County system intended to support families facing homelessness. ProPublica found that reaching out to the official channel for family homelessness rarely results in any offers of assistance, leaving families feeling utterly hopeless.