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The Haven, a shelter for older adults in Phoenix, could open by summer

Coverage of aging is supported in part by AARP Arizona

With summer fast approaching, older adults experiencing homelessness will need some kind of housing or temporary shelter. A location in Phoenix is finally opening its doors after a long delay. 

At the end of 2022, KJZZ News reported about  the Haven, a former hotel located along Interstate 17 that was in the process of being transformed into a shelter for seniors experiencing homelessness.

It was supposed to open its doors in 2023, but the project was delayed.

Phillip Scharf is the interim CEO of Central Arizona Shelter Services, known as CASS, the largest mass shelter in the state. He says the Haven could open by midsummer.

"Right now, what we're hearing from our general contractors, and the work we're doing with the city inspectors is that the first building is still scheduled to be done in July. And so that puts us on pace to kind of, you know, hopefully get some of our clients over there in the crunch time of the heat," said Scharf.

Last year, CASS opened a temporary emergency shelter for its older clients, but that closed in March.

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KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.