Nonprofit building respite center in Mesa for the unhoused

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

An 84-bed medical respite center for people facing homelessness and who are recovering from a serious illness or injury is to be constructed in Mesa.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held May 6 near Velda Rose United Methodist Church west of the northwest corner of Main Street and 56th Street in Mesa for the facility to be operated by Circle the City, an Arizona 501(c)(3) nonprofit community health organization.

The $24 million East Valley center is to offer a range of services including 24/7 medical care, freshly cooked meals, behavioral health care, substance use intervention, physical therapy and other supportive services.

The new facility is planned to be operational by 2026, Circle the City CEO Kim Despres said in remarks made during a presentation at the church before the ceremony.

“Each and every one of us here today shares a common goal — to help ensure everyone has access to equitable and quality health care ... especially for those who do not have a permanent place to call home,” she said.

Circle the City operates two respite care centers in Phoenix where patients facing homelessness get a bed, meals, daily medical care and other supportive services while recovering from a serious illness or injury. The nonprofit launched a $24 million capital campaign to build the East Valley Medical Respite Center in Mesa, it states at https://circlethecity.org.

The Mesa site is the first Circle the City facility to have a groundbreaking ceremony, organization founder Sister Adele O’Sullivan said May 6.

“This is the first time in our 20-some-year history that we have ever broken ground. We have remodeled buildings, we have put mobile units on the road, we have cut lots of ribbons but we have never broken ground to build from the soil. Isn’t that exciting for us?” she said. “I buried a medal of St. Joseph here a few weeks ago. The sisters of St. Joseph founded Circle the City 20ish years ago. We have that custom of dedicating projects to St. Joseph’s care.”

Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

Meet Richard
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.  

Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. 

Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.

Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.

Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.