Catholic Charities Community Services’ DIGNITY House was recently named Homeless Service Provider of the Year by Phoenix Neighborhood Services. DIGNITY House received the award for its outstanding efforts assisting women with intensive residential recovery to help them live an independent life. The award was presented last month during the city’s National Community Development Week celebration.

Bethany Christian School (BCS) in Tempe, students and families participated in an Outreach Project to help and support homeless children from Children’s First Academy.

An Ahwatukee Foothills resident is making her dreams come true by providing much needed furniture to families getting back on their feet after homelessness.

Pet rescue groups across the Valley are coming together with a three-year initiative to solve the problem of pet homelessness by fixing, adopting and saving Valley pets.

Hunger may seem like a problem only faced far away, but local churches say it’s a problem right here in Ahwatukee Foothills.

According to the Government Accountability Office, the federal government operates 50 different programs for the homeless. There are 23 programs in housing, 26 for food and nutrition, 130 for at-risk youth. They also operate an astounding 342 programs for economic development, which government is notoriously bad at anyway.

Everest College Phoenix – Mesa Campus recently celebrated the graduation of nearly 100 students. During the graduation ceremony, director of the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services, Joey Strickland, was recognized for his life-long commitment to serving his country and fellow veterans. He was awarded with an Everest College Phoenix distinguished honorary doctorate degree, doctor of humanities for public service.

The city of Phoenix is reaching out to residents over the next few months to get input on the city manager’s trial budget, which does not call for an early removal of the city’s food sales tax.

American Legion Post 64 is hosting its Fifth Annual American Legion Tournament on Saturday, March 23 at the Ahwatukee Golf Club, 13431 S. 44th St. The Legion is a homeless Club, without any income from food services, which means it has to raise funds through outside events like this golf tournament.

Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema joined local leaders, veterans administration officials and volunteer organizations at the opening of a transitional facility for homeless women veterans on Monday.

Friends for Life Animal Rescue in downtown Gilbert is host and beneficiary of an annual special dinner and silent auction from 6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 2 at The Buttes, 2000 Westcourt Way, in Tempe.

A unique caucus of gun owners in the Arizona Democratic Party is working to promote common sense legislation, firearms safety, and marksmanship.

The Phoenix City Council elected District 3 Councilman Bill Gates as vice mayor last week. He will serve in the position until the end of 2013.

Nearly every month, a group of about 15 students, parents and staff members gather as the Student Improvement Team (S.I.T.) for Horizon Community Learning Center in Ahwatukee, a group that mingles together voices to implement change.

Friends for Life Animal Rescue to host and be the beneficiary of an annual special dinner and silent auction from 6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 2 at The Buttes, A Marriott Resort, 2000 Westcourt Way, in Tempe.

For years the Ahwatukee Foothills community has been connecting and collaborating to serve its neighborhoods. Now, eight advocacy teams have been formed and they’re gearing up for another successful year of serving.

The Phoenix Symphony is one of just 22 American orchestras to receive a first-year Getty Education and Community Investment Grant. The grant was awarded as a new and emerging work to expand the orchestra’s B-Sharp Music Wellness program, targeting the homeless population of urban Phoenix, and is recognition of the Phoenix Symphony’s innovation and dedication to increasing its relevance to the community.

Colby is a very handsome short-haired gray boy, about 8 years old. He became homeless when his family experienced a crisis.

Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development has received a $25,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to continue meeting its mission serving youth who may be homeless or at-risk of homelessness, abuse or neglect.

Representative-elect Kyrsten Sinema was named to the House Committee on Financial Services by the House Democratic Policy and Steering Committee. The committee, which oversees agencies pertaining to the economy, is largely comprised of more senior members.

Requests for emergency food assistance in Phoenix increased by 5 percent over the past year, according to the 2012 U.S. Conference of Mayors Hunger and Homelessness survey. These numbers are expected to increase this year, despite Congress considering cuts to programs like SNAP (Food Stamps) that benefit these low-income families.