Building blocks and stepping stones

Video by Bruce Cooper and Chris Peterson

After the death of his father, Desmond Anthony’s life started to spin out of control. His grief combined poorly with his substance abuse, and he found himself on the street for multiple years, where he found it especially difficult to survive the deadly summer months.

“Being homeless on the streets in Arizona during the summer is a strenuous process,” he said. “It's strenuous to be homeless as it is, but to be out there in the heat, you are oftentimes without water. You're in direct sunlight all day long. It's hard to escape the sunlight.”

The heat is especially dangerous in the Valley, where in 2024, there were 602 heat-related deaths. 

“You sleep uncomfortably because even our evening temperatures are at 96 degrees,” he said. “So when you find temperatures that are just you go from hot to hotter 24/7, you exhaust your body often, and it's very hard to keep up.”

Fortunately, Desmond’s time of homelessness didn’t last forever. He found a connection to SVdP and was able to go into the Washington Street Shelter, where he quickly took advantages of the resources and made good impressions with the staff.

“To be in this shelter is a blessing. I have a place to sleep. I have air conditioning, I have blankets. I have a shower every single day. I have meals all day long. I have people who really do care.”

Now, Desmond has taken control of his life back into his own hands. He’s enrolled in college classes and works two part-time jobs to pay for them and save up for move-in fees. In the past, he worked in the financial industry for almost a decade, and is hoping to work his way back to where he was.

He’s also reconnected to his spirituality and is in recovery for his addictions. He’s already more than two months sober.

“St Vincent de Paul has been my refuge,” he said. “But it's also been building blocks and stepping stones for me to be able to get back up from a crawl to a walk.”