Prescott Area Women's Shelter

About Us / Our Mission

 Since we are a people that take hope seriously and believe in the innate worth of every human being,
it is our job to take people where they are and help get them where they want to go. The shelter will provide basic resources to homeless/transitional women and children of Yavapai County. Our facility will be an outreach program by connecting guests to current outside resources.

General Info: PAWS Past, Present and Future

In June of 2007, one of the community conversations centered on the need for an emergency drop-in homeless shelter for women and women with children. In September 2007, ten social service organizations formed a collaboration to make this conversation a reality. The Coalition for Compassion and Justice (CCJ) became the fiscal agent, providing insurance, a non-profit status, and they hired a VISTA to implement the project. By November 2007, collaboration was formed between the agencies, and PAWS was created. The open house was deemed successful; the shelter budget, $15,000, was raised in less than two months.

In its first season, PAWS was located at Hillside Church of God and opened from December 2007 through March 2008. In four months, PAWS provided services to 39 women and 7 children. Over 20 faith-based and civic organizations provided 238 meals while PAWS provided 539 bed nights. PAWS was staffed by 66 dedicated volunteers, seven days a week, who filled five positions each night including: a Behavioral Health Worker, Shelter Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator, Night Shift Supervisor and Advocate. During their stay at the shelter, guests found places to stay/rent and applied and received jobs and government subsidies. During our last two nights of service, four new guests arrived; one a mother with two children. March being the second highest month for new guest arrivals, 12, and bed nights, 151, shows that emergency homeless services are not just a need during the winter months; it is a year round service that should be provided to the quad-city area homeless community.

In April 2008, the PAWS assessment was presented to the ten supporting organizations, and Youth Count took over as fiscal agent and 501 (c) 3. Youth Count and PAWS are working together in applying for a non-profit status of PAWS, Inc., continuing grant writing, developing fundraising efforts, and have now secured a permanent location for the shelter. The PAWS Board of Directors have begun meeting monthly, since July 2008, to discuss and implement the future of PAWS as a year-round emergency shelter.

PAWS is currently the only shelter in Prescott, Arizona that provides emergency services to homeless women, many of whom suffer from mental illness and substance abuse. This project has shed light on the fact that there is a homeless population of women and women with children in the Prescott area who are not having their basic needs met.