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Delivering water to the homeless is a personal mission for one St. Vincent de Paul employee

In partnership with St. Vincent de Paul, Bashas', and Food City, ABC15 is hosting a bottled water drive
Kaley O'Kelley.png
Posted at 5:00 AM, Jun 01, 2023
and last updated 2023-06-28 15:54:35-04

PHOENIX — Throughout June, we are teaming up with St. Vincent de Paul, Bashas' and Food City to provide water daily to people who are experiencing homelessness.

Last summer, during the busiest month, roughly 50,000 cold bottles of water were handed out each week by workers of the St. Vincent de Paul Celebrity Fight Night water truck.

One of the water truck’s longest-serving employees is also the supervisor, Joseph Yanez. Yanez and his team are responsible for helping unhoused families and individuals across the Valley by providing them with cold bottles of water throughout the hottest months of the year.

We joined Yanez along his water delivery route to see what a cold bottle of water means to those who are living on the streets.

Without these donations, Yanez tells ABC15, homeless individuals struggle to access any water, let alone cold water.

"You know, without these bottles of water, people living on the streets have to get water out of hoses and spigots,” Yanez said. “It's just not the same once they get a cold bottle of water. The people we see out here on the streets are always full of gratitude."

His mission to help deliver water to those in need wasn't always just a job.

Yanez says it started as a desperate search to find his daughter, the mother of his grandsons.

"I was out there on the streets by myself, driving up and down, staying outside of women's shelters," he said.

For more than a decade, Yanez handed out water at homeless encampments, hoping one day, he might find his daughter.

"[One day], I said, 'Okay, last call. Last call for any supplies.' And I heard, 'No, hold on Dad,’” he said.

Yanez said he did not recognize his daughter immediately, but he remembered her voice, hearing her loud and clear the moment she called for him to “hold on.”

“Her voice never changed. It never changed,” Yanez said.

Yanez said he asked his daughter, “'What do you want to do?' And I was stern. You know, I was like, 'what do you want to do?'” As he recalled, she said, “I want to go home.”

For the past few years, the family has continued to heal, according to Yanez.

He said his daughter is excelling by leaps and bounds as a grocery store manager, also telling us that she has also been reunited with her sons.

"They're now all together as one family," he said.

Knowing and experiencing the power of helping others, Yanez continues this life-saving effort to get 50,000 cold bottles of water to those who need it most.

"That's the thing that keeps the body going. That's worth more than gold,” he said.

In partnership with St. Vincent de Paul, Bashas', and Food City, ABC15 is hosting a bottled water drive to help the less fortunate.

The drive runs through the entire month of June.

How to donate:

All Bashas' and Food City locations throughout Arizona will accept monetary donations at the register June 1-30 and water donations on Tuesday, June 13, and Tuesday, June 27.

All five metro Phoenix St. Vincent de Paul thrift stores will be accepting water and monetary donations.

For more information, click here.

Bottled water drop-off locations:

Surprise Thrift Store:
12751 W. Bell Rd. Suite 133 Surprise, AZ 85374
Tues-Sat | 10am - 6pm

Sunnyslope Thrift Store:
8231 N. 7th St. Phoenix, AZ 85020
Tues-Sat | 10am - 6pm

Scottsdale Hope Chest:
4857 E. Greenway Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Tues-Sat | 10am - 6pm

Mesa Thrift Store:
2352 W. Main Rd. Mesa, AZ 85201
Tues-Sat | 10am - 6pm

Avondale Thrift Store:
1450 N Dysart Rd. Avondale, AZ 85323
Mon-Sat | 9am - 7pm
Sun | 12pm - 5pm