About

About

Keys to Change Leadership Team

Amy Schwabenlender

CEO

Joseph Losada

CFO

Letticia “Tish” Brown-Gambino

Associate Executive Director

Richard Crews

Program Director

AAron Iverson

Operations Director

Christina Fankhauser

Director of Development

Douglas Dempsey

Human Resources Director

Steve Davis

Development

Keys to Change Board of Directors

Myron Hammes
Chair

Community Volunteer

Shannon Ramirez
Vice Chair

Moss Adams

Robin Romano
Treasurer

Marisol Federal Credit Union

Kelly Mills
Secretary

Office of U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema

Mike McQuaid

Co-founder/Past Chair
In Memory

Terry Araman
Community Volunteer

Commander Brian Freudenthal

Phoenix Police Department

Chris Glover
ASU School of Applied Professional Studies

Guy Inzalaco
Olympia Companies

Yareli Lopez
Casey Family Programs

Jeff Lowe

MidFirst Bank

Rima McIntire

Moss Adams

Bill Morlan
Electric Supply, Inc.

TJ Swearengin

Lee & Associates

Patrick Tighe

Snell & Wilmer

Arlen Westling
Community Volunteer

Rose Wiley
Community Volunteer

Joselyn Wilkinson
Community Volunteer

Through the collaborative approach of Keys to Change hundreds of clients have daily access to social support services, job assistance, convenience items, behavioral health, legal services and more. Public and private partnerships have been and continue to be the backbone of our organization – our successes are a result of the cooperative and collaborative work of the many compassionate, progressive visionaries in our Valley of the Sun community.

HSC Annual Report 2022-2023

2022-2023
Annual Report

Milestones at Keys to Change

In November 2005, the HSC (now Keys to Change) opened the Human Services Campus (now Key Campus) in downtown Phoenix. A non-profit, private, government, and community collaboration that provides wrap-around services for adults experiencing homelessness, the Campus has become a national model. Keys to Change operates the Lodestar Day Resource Center, which since its’ inception in 2005 has been referred to as the “hub” of the Campus, housing an extensive array of human services needed to begin the transformation from crisis to stability and self-sufficiency.

Lodestar Day Resource Center
Lodestar Day Resource Center

In March 2017, with donations from the Garcia Family, the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority (IDA), and the Thunderbirds Charities, the Brian Garcia Welcome Center was opened. In addition to honoring the life of Brian Garcia, a frequent volunteer at the campus, the Welcome Center helps clients receive services more expeditiously. The opening of the Welcome Center has allowed Key Campus to expand its capacity, meet its clients more expediently, and more effectively coordinate services to empower people to end their homelessness. The Welcome Center provides assessments for nearly 500 unduplicated clients each month. Nearly 10% of clients are diverted from homelessness via reunification with family and friends.  In addition, our Street Outreach Program aims to increase client engagements and help individuals navigate all the services available on the Campus.

Brian Garcia Welcome Center
Brian Garcia Welcome Center

In April 2022, Keys to Change opened Respiro, a 100-bed “sprung structure” shelter with a wraparound concept that believes in being the stepping stone to ending homelessness. Campus partner St. Vincent de Paul graciously lent the northern-most part of its Urban Farm to provide the space for Keys to Change’s 6,300-square-foot pre-fabricated building in a community effort to help provide additional shelter to those in the area. In return, the farm will expand onto Key Campus land to the east.

The area surrounding Key Campus has seen a drastic rise in homelessness since the pandemic growing from 400 people living in tents on the streets surrounding the campus in January 2021 to more than 1,000 people in October 2022. Key Campus provides program staff and security at the $1.6 million structure funded by the City of Phoenix.  Key Campus prioritizes two groups of people for Respiro:

  • People camped on the streets surrounding the Campus who have a housing voucher but are unable to find housing due to market conditions and those already accessing services but unable to find shelter.
  • Vulnerable people experiencing significant barriers to housing, including individuals of advanced age and young adults, medically vulnerable people, domestic violence survivors, veterans and individuals discharged from hospitals overnight.

Through the process of case management, supportive services and other providers, clients are given direct attention that allows them to fill in the gaps of past attempts that did not allow them to progress towards ending their homelessness.

Human Services Campus Respiro
Human Services Campus Respiro