MESA, AZ — A cold bottle of water can offer immediate relief from Arizona’s dangerous heat. At St. Vincent de Paul’s Mesa Dining Room, it can also become an invitation to receive help and begin again.
The ABC15 Water Drive is helping St. Vincent de Paul provide cold bottled water to people experiencing homelessness and families in need across the Valley.
At the Mesa Dining Room, water is available from the moment guests walk through the gate.
They can also receive meals, showers, and hygiene products.
ABC15 Mornings Anchor Kaley O'Kelley talked with Christel Armstrong, the Mesa dining room supervisor.
“We just want to make sure that we are pushing water at every point. There’s water at the beginning when they come in the gate. There’s water if they’re taking a shower. There’s water handed to them when they’re going through the line.”
Armstrong tells O'Kelley that many guests arrive after walking for miles in the heat.
“When I say they’re trudging in that gate, they are barely surviving,” she said. “And we’re able to offer a cool shower, a cold water, and just that reprieve. That dignity.”
The dining room provides up to 120 showers each week.
Guests can also receive towels, clean undergarments, and hygiene products when supplies are available.
Armstrong also said every donation to the ABC15 Water Drive can help open the door to hope and a new path.
Donations can be made at participating Food City, Bashas’, and AJ’s Fine Foods locations through the end of the month or online at ABC15.com.
