UMOM New Day Centers Inc

At UMOM we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity for a better life. UMOM does not manage homelessness: we end homelessness. To accomplish this, we know that the formula to success is housing + income = ending homelessness. This approach to housing and income sets up clients to self-resolve their homelessness than a traditional approach to shelter that does not have an integrated workforce development component to the program design.

UMOM serves families with dependent children and single women experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County. Our programs operate in alignment with the Housing First model where providing permanent housing serves as a platform for our clients to pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life.

We firmly believe that the homeless system is a crisis response system. UMOM is guided by the principle that homelessness should be rare, brief, and non-recurring. UMOM’s emergency shelter programs are designed to end homelessness for the most vulnerable and at-risk households in Maricopa County. UMOM has the least restrictive criteria of any other emergency shelter in Maricopa County and offers a service-rich environment to meet the needs of the most complex clients.

UMOM also operates Rapid Rehousing, Supportive Housing, and Permanent Supportive Housing programs. UMOM’s Rapid Rehousing program helps families to quickly exit homelessness, return to housing in the community and not become homeless again. Additionally, UMOM assists with utility, rental, and childcare expenses as needed.

General Shelter Program Components: Intensive individualized client support--length of service varies by program type and client needs:
*1-on-1 case management
*Advocacy with property management companies, landlords, courts, and partnering agencies
*Employment support services to help individuals secure and maintain employment
*Connection to community resources Family Emergency Shelter

UMOM leverages the expertise and experience offered by our partners to ensure that clients receive the highest level of care. UMOM's case management team identifies the unique barriers to housing each client: employment, education, income, access to healthcare, childcare, food and nutrition. In identifying these barriers, UMOM can connect each client with our extensive network of partners to provide them access to the resources necessary for them to end their homelessness.

Founded in 1964, UMOM is Arizona's largest provider of services for families experiencing homelessness. UMOM has 57 years of experience serving the homeless population in the Phoenix Metropolitan area including 29 years of experience operating a full- service Emergency Shelter. As the largest provider of homeless services for families in Arizona, UMOM effectively leverages our programs spanning coordinated entry, shelter, housing, and supportive services to holistically serve the most vulnerable individuals and families in a coordinated and efficient manner.

UMOM's reputation as a valued and trusted partner results from our commitment to being data-driven and outcome accountable. UMOM is committed to using data to drive our decision making and as a result has invested in talent and systems to align our program efforts with our organizational strategy.

UMOM has a team of qualified and experienced individuals to accomplish our goals. We hire qualified individuals and provide ongoing training and exposure to the best programs, nationwide, so we can continually build both the quality and effectiveness of our programs.

UMOM serves nearly 15,000 unique individuals across all of our services annually. Approximately 7,000 of these individuals are served in UMOM’s shelter and housing programs. Last year, UMOM provided rapid rehousing to over 600 households experiencing homelessness. UMOM has developed over 400 of affordable housing in the community across seven different properties to address the lack of affordable housing in Phoenix. More properties are in the pipeline for development.

UMOM’s Workforce Development team assists clients with meeting their employment goals by conducting job training and job placement activities geared toward gaining and retaining employment. Over the last two years UMOM has assisted over 2,000 clients in shelter obtain employment. UMOM’s clients have often operated in “survival mode” for weeks or longer before entering our programs; thus, their stress levels are high, resulting negatively on their overall health and wellbeing. UMOM operates a Wellness Clinic at our shelter to provide direct medical, mental health and substance abuse services on-site.

UMOM is committed to continuous improvement through innovation in our program designs. One example of this is Homegrown Training which is a food service training program that delivers hands-on kitchen and barista training in UMOM’s own social enterprise Café and Residential Dining facilities under the guidance of chef instructors, expert staff members, and Homegrown program graduates. The ultimate goal of our Homegrown Training program is to avoid future homelessness.

Our Social Enterprise Program is a model member of the Catalyst Kitchen national network and has a direct partnership with Starbucks to hire our Homegrown graduates. UMOM clients can participate in this training program, gain skills, secure employment, and be eligible for free college through Starbucks’ partnership with Arizona State University. At UMOM, we use social enterprise to change lives.