Truth be told, it's a Phoenix most of us don't want to know. But have it we must. However ill-prepared, the Valley has become a new American melting pot. However much we deny it, pockets of poverty follow our sprawl outward. And although the poor may always be with us, Arizona's horrendous poverty statistics are an impediment to attracting quality companies and jobs.
Heroes step up.
Neighborhood Ministries every year helps hundreds of families all over the Valley - and poverty is mobile here, just like everything else. Phoenix is honeycombed with groups like Neighborhood Ministries, working in small, effective ways. When President Bush talks of faith-based initiatives, these kind of organizations are on the front lines. But that doesn't mean the answers come free of charge. Go to Danley's office in a careworn trailer hard against the railroad yards on West Fillmore, and she's eager to talk of the new neighborhood center.