You’re 17 years old, facing the challenges of being a child in the foster care system, contending with abuse, and ultimately left in a dark and lonely place. You gave yourself a fresh start by starting a family with a long-term partner who provided you with the life you always dreamed of: a life of comfort and stability. However, the passing of a family member wrecked all hopes for a better life, for your family. Turning to friends for temporary relief, unfortunately, was not enough for your needs. Slowly, you started to realize you were running out of options, until you connected with Saving Amy.

This is the story of Chamika, a single mother of five who battled homelessness during the pandemic. She found help in an organization that firmly believes in the power of community. One family at a time, Saving Amy comes together as a community to empower one another through inner transformation, compassion, and love.

Since 2015, Saving Amy has provided a holistic approach to breaking the cycle of homelessness by empowering individuals and families through mentorship, education, and life skills training. This Phoenix-based non-profit sees success not merely as providing temporary housing but as helping families build sustainable lives through stable employment, financial literacy, and confidence in their independence. With a remarkable 100% success rate, every family they’ve supported has remained housed and employed, showcasing the impact of their long-term, community-focused solutions. This success is rooted in Saving Amy’s commitment to providing families with the tools they need to thrive.

Saving Amy’s Five Core Programs address the unique needs of each family. Through this personalized approach, Saving Amy transforms lives and helps families create a brighter future.

The Rise Up program offers essential support to families as they transition from homelessness to stability. This program provides rent subsidies, furniture, and home essentials to set families up comfortably in their new homes.  Taking their commitment a step further, The Rise Up program helps families move out of low-income neighborhoods into high-quality communities. This shift not only improves their living conditions but also improves their access to employment opportunities, education, and improved health outcomes.

Saving Amy has considered the barriers families may face when trying to sustain housing and employment, including access to reliable transportation. Through their Rolling Forward program, Saving Amy provides donated vehicles to families so they can continue their journey towards success.

Homelessness not only has a physical impact on families, but an emotional and mental impact as well. Saving Amy recognizes the layers of stress, anxiety, and trauma families may have prior to their connection with Saving Amy. Their Empowerment Through Therapy program guides both adults and children through personalized therapy sessions with licensed therapists across the Valley.

Driven by their vision of sustaining housing and employment, Saving Amy’s THRIVE program provides essential classes that families need to sustain their success. From budgeting and nutrition, to meditation, career development, and parenting, THRIVE offers life skills programming to empower individuals and families with the knowledge needed to navigate life.

The Kids Go program encourages the joy of childhood and pairs children with students from local high schools and Brophy College Preparatory to provide them with a new sense of normalcy. With year-round tutoring, mentorship, and summer camps Saving Amy children enhance their academic performance, develop positive behavior management skills, and cultivate a love for learning.

In Phoenix alone, 9,435 people are experiencing homeless, but that daunting number never deterred Saving Amy’s founder, Jennifer Kiernan. Their 100% success rate of families remaining housed and employed would not be possible without their 47 community partners and volunteers. On November 23, they are hosting their 8^th annual celebration, Once Upon a Story, where they honor 13 families graduating from their program to recognize all they have accomplished. It’s more than a celebration of no longer facing homelessness, but rather a celebration of empowerment, transformation, and purpose.

Saving Amy has been serving unhoused families for eight years, but they can’t do it alone. Here’s how you can get involved: