Local Stuff You Should Know #8

Benefit show for Tumbleweed.org and the homeless youth of Phoenix

Benny • Thursday, October 15, 2009 • 12:21 PM

Featured writer: Ben N. from Said Gun

So economically, times are pretty damn tough for all of us. But our local charities and non-profits are really feeling the pinch. What's really frustrating is that this economic downturn is having the worst effect on our most vulnerable community members. The Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development, a local non-profit for homeless and at-risk youth, is on the verge of losing some really great programs. The drop-in gallery, which features the artwork of local teens, is facing closure. So is Tumbleweed's outreach program, which provides food, clothing and other personal necessities to homeless teens all over the Valley.

So this is where we, as a community, come in. The band I play in, Said Gun, is throwing a benefit show November 7th at the Ice House Tavern to raise some cash for Tumbleweed. Ice House is donating every dime of the $5 cover to the organization. Emperors of Japan and Former Friends of Young Americans have also signed on to play. Plus, there's a new punk band packed with some familiar faces scheduled to make their debut appearance, Good Men Die Like Dogs featuring members of Fuck You Ups , Parkway Wretch and more. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we'd all probably go to this thing anyway.

There's been a lot of people stepping up to help out so far and it's fucking rad that we are keeping our money where it belongs -- in our community. So let's hang out and have some beers and know that our own eyes on our own streets will see the impact we make. Let's be our own fucking bailout plan.

I'm guessing a lot of us on this site have either been homeless or a paycheck away and sleeping on the streets can really suck. We're all punkers here, plain and simple. We've given our hearts to those who fall through the cracks and we've fallen through plenty of cracks ourselves. Let's keep building our community.

Here's some info about some of Tumbleweed's services:

• Emergency shelter
• Transitional living
• Counseling
• Skill development
• Education and employment assistance
• Family reunification using Functional Family Therapy (a Best Practices counseling model)
• Independent living skills training
• Street outreach and drop-in center resources in Tempe and Phoenix for homeless youth
• A community Learning Center – a certified school, vocational and work placement center
• Tumbleweed also partners in five collaborations that provide prevention and early intervention to at risk youth and their families primarily in the Greater Phoenix Area.

Check out the website at tumbleweed.org if you want to learn more. They help out more than 3,000 local teens every year. For more info on the benefit show at the Icehouse Tavern, visit the AZPunk calendar posting.

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