St. Vincent de Paul smartphone app aims to prevent homelessness in Arizona

People are becoming homeless in Maricopa County right now at nearly twice the rate that unhoused people are getting into housing, according to the Maricopa Association of Governments. The Society of St. Vincent De Paul has a new initiative to try to reverse that trend.

Taxpayers spend tens of thousands of dollars on supportive services for each person who becomes homeless, but St. Vincent de Paul’s chief program officer Jessica Berg said research suggests the cost of preventing someone from becoming homeless is comparatively quite small.

“Up to about $2,000 can really help someone to avoid an eviction and get back on track to stay in their home,” Berg said.

With that in mind, the organization has launched a smartphone app called “Angels on Call” that alerts users of one-time donation opportunities to help Arizona families in need with an unexpected bill or crisis rent assistance.

“It's a way for the community to get involved and really see how just such a small amount of money can make such a large impact,” Berg said. “You'd get pinged and it would say, ‘Jessica is a neighbor in need. Can you help?’ And you can say, ‘Yes, I can fund the whole amount.’ You can say, ‘Yes, I can fund this portion of it.’”

The organization is also partnering with Arizona’s three public universities to study the effectiveness of homelessness prevention strategies in the long term.

“What we're doing now with [the universities] and with some of our volunteers is following up with families afterwards at say 30 days, 90 days, a year to make sure that they have what they need to stay in their housing and make sure that crisis really is resolved,” Berg said.