The Haven provides a safe and mentally supportive environment to receive temporary housing and on-site support from Central Arizona Shelter Services and partners for older adults (55-plus) experiencing homelessness. 

Transformed from a Phoenix inn, The Haven is designed to feel like a residential community with amenities, including private bedrooms and bathrooms, a communal kitchenette, a central courtyard gathering space, a dog run, a landscaped exercise path, and planting beds to create a humane, supportive space for an aging and medically at-risk population.

Based on best wayfinding practices, vibrant colors and Sonoran Desert symbols help residents navigate and orient themselves around the site. Trauma-informed design permeates the project to allow the residents to receive specific support and required care during their residence. Professionally painted, highway-scale murals elevate the building’s exterior to evoke positive feelings for occupants and give back to the surrounding community.

The Haven creates a welcoming, healing environment for formerly unhoused residents and will be used as a model for future shelters in the Phoenix metro area. The project has helped to dispel the stigma surrounding homelessness within the community and is seen as having a positive impact on the site by its neighbors.