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Voices of Arizona: The man who creates furniture for homeless shelters

The Haven is an emergency shelter specifically for unhoused people age 55 and older. It officially opened in January 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
The Haven is an emergency shelter specifically for unhoused people age 55 and older. It officially opened in January 2025.

KJZZ’s Voices of Arizona is a special segment where we shine a spotlight on everyday Arizonans who help make our state an extraordinary place to live. Here, we talk about a man who creates furniture for homeless shelters.

Last week, one of the only shelters in the country specifically for seniors officially opened in Phoenix. Everything about the property is geared toward the needs of older adults — from the colors painted on the exterior which help orient residents to the furniture inside each room.

"It is very niche," explains Eric Bashaw, the co-founder of Creative Furniture Connection and, along with Goodmans Interior Structures, provided the beds, nightstands and storage units here at The Haven.

"All of the material is sanitizable, and if you take a look at this mattress pan right there, it avoids bed bugs because bed bugs cannot live underneath this because it's solid steel," Bashaw said.

The Haven is an emergency shelter specifically for unhoused people age 55 and older. It officially opened in January 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
The Haven is an emergency shelter specifically for unhoused people age 55 and older. It officially opened in January 2025.

Bashaw has a medical background and has provided sleeping solutions like this one at other mass shelters in Los Angeles. The beds are also adjustable, so if a person uses a wheelchair, it can be lowered or elevated.

The Haven can accommodate up to 170 older adults aged 55 and over in single and double occupancy rooms.

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.
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