East Valley Tribune
April 12, 2011 | 06:36 pm
Posted: Friday, November 3, 2006 12:00 am | Updated: 10:48 am, Wed Mar 10, 2010.
Church coalition caring for A.J. homeless Tribune East Valley Tribune | 0 comments
"Uncle Max" Uhrig sat in a shaded church corridor Monday afternoon, playing gentle music to entertain a handful of homeless
people. Soulful, bending notes floated through the air as the 52-year-old homeless man strummed his guitar.
Uhrig and his companions had gathered for lunch provided by the Genesis Program - a network of four East Valley churches
that this month began offering free meals to the homeless. The coalition of churches in Apache Junction, Mesa and Gold
Canyon also offers a few hours of shelter each day and services such as bicycle repair, first aid and employment counseling.
Uhrig said for him it's easy to understand the plight of the homeless. After all, he's been on the street most of his life, he said.
"The look in their eyes basically tells a lot of their story: pain, suffering, terror," he said.
The Genesis Program was created to address a need for basic human services in Apache Junction, which doesn't have any
overnight homeless shelters. The program was created after a similar program proved successful at Apache Junction's Desert
Chapel, which opened its doors this summer to offer the homeless food and daytime escape from the heat.
The Rev. Galene Boyett, a pastor at Desert Chapel and the Genesis Program spokeswoman, said she hopes Apache Junction
will soon fund its own homeless shelter, even though the churches have started to provide some basic services.
"Ultimately, what we would like to see is a daily food program and a shelter," she said.
Meanwhile, many homeless people will be relegated to sleeping in undeveloped, desert areas throughout the city.
Genesis Program volunteers and Apache Junction officials met earlier this month to discuss homeless issues, including the
possibility of a city-funded shelter.
City Councilman Kris Sippel said it's difficult to determine how many people are homeless, so the extent of the problem is unclear.
Sippel, who attended the meeting with Genesis, said he hopes residents would bring up the issue at a public comment session next
month, when city officials will distribute the next round of grant money. "If the need is there, I most certainly think we should do it,"
he said.
"If we get 30 or 40 people that come and say, 'We need a homeless shelter,' we'll build a homeless shelter," Sippel said.
Lee Boschee, 60, was homeless earlier this year and lived in the desert near City Hall. Now, Boschee works full time as a grounds
keeper at Desert Chapel, has opened a bank account and rents a mobile home said "a steady job and support of local churches have
helped him put his life back on track."I think I'm pretty much like everyone else again," he said.
Contact us East Valley Tribune Phone number: 480-TRIBUNE Address: 1620 W. Fountainhead Parkway, Ste. 219 Tempe, AZ 85282
Max Uhrig's continuation:
Since that time, a few have died. One from attempting to steal copper wire from a power transformer at a renovation site of the old
Grand Hotel, where Movie moguls used to reside while movies were in production in the regions between Tucson, Phoenix, and the
Gold Canyon districts. Just to name a few: John Wayne and Ben Johnson.
Another death occurred the next year 2007, causes were undetermined, and his body slighted for cremation 30 days later. Finally his
mother was contacted the very same day and his demise was set. Identified, county officials could officially close the case.
Nearly 20 of them had joined the church, 2 joined the choir, 1 was a member of the Womens committee, and the remnants of this
number had moved up or at least moved on.
Max's book: "Keeper of The Knew; The Fullness of The Gentiles, was finished by June 2006, and he is at this date still seeking
financial support for publication, as the jobless rates in Arizona are still exceeding 9.5%. Very few companies or corporations
are financially able to hire anyone. Considering the loss of many businesses over the lacking within the American Economic
slump, and their recent deboccal over the SB-1070 immigration debate, there just isn't any lasting work for the peoples of the
unemployed to find work. And those fortunate enough to keep their existing employment are doing so with greater emphasis
on just who they are and would like to remain.
Always in Christ.
Max Simon Uhrig
San Tan Valley, AZ
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