Happy New Year 2025!

Coming off a year of new partnerships, sources of funding, unprecedented staff growth, and new programs, I am optimistic for what this new year brings:

Green jobs, healthy homes: Our work with the nearly $20M Environmental Protection Agency grant has begun, bringing training and green jobs to the area. Our investment in workforce development and education will have an impact in our community long after the grant work is completed. Our communities will flourish with the installation of solar panels, rainwater harvesting, and green structures, creating healthy homes, neighborhoods and communities.

Housing: Primavera continues to explore options for additional long and short-term housing to address historic housing shortages. Renovations at the historic Paradise Motel will allow us to provide at least 41 new units. Our acquisition of Viviendas Asistenciales will allow us to increase housing for seniors.

Focus on mobile outreach and transportation services: New funding will allow our mobile outreach efforts to double in 2025. The outreach unit meets people where they are, providing housing, supplies, and transportation to supportive services.

Focus on healthcare and supportive services: Primavera is exploring ways to secure healthcare funding and enhance partnerships to expand services. Stay tuned for more!

Focus on staff: We continue to offer training, bolster benefits and pay, and increase staff support to better serve community.

Focus on data: Primavera is harnessing the power of our data to examine what is and what is not working. We will continue to tweak services and pivot as quickly as needed with the ultimate goal of better serving community.

I am grateful for all of your support 2024 and am looking forward to additional growth in 2025. Your unwavering commitment, collaborative and creative spirit will help us achieve our goals and surpass expectations for all.

Thank you for your support and dedication. Here's to a remarkable 2025!

Maureen Steliga packs a hygiene kit to donate to the Primavera Foundation. 

When Sunflower community residents Patrick and Maureen Steliga first arrived in Arizona in December 2019, they were looking for ways to give back.

They learned about the Primavera Foundation through an ad in the local newspaper and within days, assembled 10 bags with winter hats, jackets, McDonald's gift cards, and other small items for Primavera participants. This gesture had a direct, positive impact on Primavera participants and inspired the Steligas to recruit others in their 900-member community. 

Since then, there has been a spotlight on contributing to Primavera Foundation. As the needs of Primavera participants evolve throughout the years, so do the contents of the collection boxes, ranging from hand-knitted gloves to personal fans to warm meals.

"It's about helping people move beyond being homeless into better situations," Patrick said. "It is important for me to volunteer with an agency that has a long-term goal of self-sufficiency." 

"Primavera not only works to find housing, it provides opportunities for employment, financial education and homeownership. All of these can be useful steps to a pathway out of poverty for those who are ready." 

Once struggling with domestic violence, Pixie Ann turned her attention to writing a book that she now shares with others who also struggle or struggled with partner violence.

“Someone asked me when I was little what I came here to do, and I told them I was here to learn. I try to learn everything, see everything as a lesson, and teach people what I can.” 

Sparked by a voice that told her to put her thoughts in writing, Pixie Ann wrote over three years, resulting in the book Life, Fate, & The Illusion of Choice, available on Amazon. 

As she wrote, Pixie Ann began to read the first few chapters to the women she was living with at various shelters, including Primavera Foundation’s Casa Paloma.

She says it helped her build stronger bonds with other women who shared their experiences with abusive partners. 

Following a stay at Primavera’s Casa Paloma this summer, Pixie Ann moved into her own apartment in August. Pixie Ann is looking for work and stays positive by reminding herself of what she’s overcome and to view every day as a gift. 

“I'm thankful every day,” Pixie Ann said. ”Sometimes, I'm just in awe about how much different it is and how blessed I feel.” 

Primavera will participate in the 2025 Point in Time Count (PIT) count on Jan. 29, in partnership with the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness (TPCH) and the University of Arizona Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW).

The count provides a snapshot of what homelessness looks like on a single night in Pima County, yielding important data about the number of people in the community experiencing homelessness.

"The count helps us curate services for participants based on real information collected from those experiencing homelessness," CEO Tisha Tallman said.

During the PIT count on the morning of Jan. 29, Primavera staff will complete surveys with participants at the Resource Center, 702 S. Sixth Ave. Primavera staff will survey participants who slept outside the night before. They'll also give each participant a $10 gift card provided by TPCH until the cards run out. 

Pima County needs 300+ volunteers to spread throughout Pima County. Volunteers will join a team to visit camps in washes and deserts, bus stops, meal sites, abandoned buildings, and other areas where people without housing may shelter on the morning of Wednesday, January 29, 2025.

Register to volunteer here: https://homelessness-point-in-time-count-2-cotgis.hub.arcgis.com/

Tucson Symphony Orchestra Principal Hornist Nelson Ricardo Yovera Perez, Monte Award-winning Tenor Daniel Rosenberg and acclaimed recitalist Michael Dauphinais will present their recital program aphelion on January 3, at St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church at 6 p.m., with proceeds benefitting Primavera Foundation.

The program will feature Benjamin Britten’s Opus 31: Serenade for Horn, Tenor and Strings; Franz Schubert’s Auf dem Strom, D.943 and other new arrangements for Horn, Tenor and Piano including songs of Leonard Bernstein, Mark Blitzstein, and more.

Tickets may be purchased here.

January is National Poverty in America Awareness Month. This month-long initiative raises awareness regarding poverty and disparities in society and what can be done about it. It is also a time to learn about and understand the circumstances that can cause people to live in poverty.

National Poverty in America Awareness Month calls on people to show empathy and donate to those in need. It also is a time to look at measures and public policies that can help alleviate poverty. In 2023, the official poverty rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 11.1 percent. Still, 36.8 million people are currently experiencing poverty. 

Sources: The Institute of Museum and Library Services, United States Census Bureau

Primavera Foundation offices are closed on Monday, Jan. 20, in honor of the life and legacy of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr.

We encourage everyone to use the holiday as a day of service to help others in our community.

Primavera is always seeking volunteers to assist with our mission. To learn how to volunteer, please reach out to Allison Wexler at awexler@primavera.org.

"Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

For local events visit the following organization's pages:

Prince Chapel AME

MLK Celebration Tucson

United Way Tucson and Southern Arizona