MESA, AZ — A Valley hero wants to make a difference. Brock Bevell is a retired Mesa police officer helping addicts on the streets.
On Wednesday afternoon, Bevell went on his daily drive to look for those in need. He found a man named Frank and his girlfriend on a street corner in Mesa.
Frank is helping his girlfriend. Both are addicts who are living on the streets.
“This is everything they own, right there in the shopping cart. That's the human connection we're missing," said Bevell, who runs “The Fentanyl Project”, a non-profit in Arizona.
Bevell says they are doing what they can to help and adds, “We can make those phone calls, they can come pick them up. But if we're expecting Frank to show up at their doorstep, that's not gonna happen."
According to a 2023 homeless report from the federal government, on a single day in Arizona, more than 14,000 people call the streets home. Many of them are addicts.
"Right now we're gonna go down to downtown Mesa. Pioneer Park is kind of one of our local parks where a lot of the transients, those who are struggling with addiction will congregate."
This year alone, Bevell says at least 28 people have been saved by the overdose reversal Narcan — which he distributes for free.
Do you want to help?
The Fentanyl Project is looking for donations such as blankets, jackets and shoes.
