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This is the semester’s final CN2Go.

I’m Kenny Rasmussen, your host for the program today. For this extra special episode we have not two, not three, but four different stories. Stay tuned.

HOST INTRO: If you have summer vacation plans out of the country you may want to check your passport. Roxanne De La Rosa tells us there is a national backlog of passports and it’s affecting Arizonans.

According to the U.S. Department of State’s website, processing times for routine passports are now at 10 to 13 weeks. At the end of last month, wait times were eight to 11 weeks. Expedited wait times are currently between seven and nine weeks.

Ivan Enriquez, Chandler City Clerk Specialist has seen the increase in passport applications. He says his office processes 17,000 applications annually, and while their office has nothing to do with the delay, they still get plenty of calls and complaints from those who haven’t received their passports.

“Let everyone know to make sure to apply for your passport and wait for it until you make those travel plans. Don’t make travel plans until you have your physical passport on hand.”

Jennifer Honea applied to renew her passport back in February. Now she’s worried she may not get it in time for her summer vacation.

“I am. I expected it to be about six weeks, and we’re just at six and a half weeks right now. But I started hearing on the news a couple weeks ago that there was going to be delays with the process, so I’m very thankful that I grabbed the passports and checked the expiration when I did so that I was able to get them hopefully early enough. But it does make me a little bit nervous because we are about five weeks away from my vacation now.”

Enriquez says his Chandler office books out appointments a week in advance while he says other processing centers like the post office may book three months out.

Passport wait times are expected to increase throughout the spring and early summer, according to the U.S. Department of State’s website. Keep an eye out for updates on their website.

Roxanne de La Rosa, Cronkite News

HOST INTRO: The state budget is still being negotiated, and down at the capitol this week lots of different parties are vying to have their voices heard. I attended a press conference for advocacy day, where one group made sure legislators knew which bills they supported.

A diverse group of advocates representing the People First Economy, or PFE, attended the press conference on the Capitol lawn. Topics discussed include affordable housing, education, lack of access to paid family and medical leave and corporate tax fairness. Speakers emphasized ending what they called “corporate welfare,” which they thought set many people up for failure.

Xenia Orona, co-director of the PFE-affiliated Fuerte Arts Movement was among the speakers who advocated for affordable housing. Currently living pay check to pay check, Orona said she and her husband had a minimum of two roommates due to rent when they were tenants. Orona maintains that many family and friends had to move back home or couch surf to remain housed in the current economy. Orona believes it’s time for a change, and she wants to see a $150 million investment in the state housing trust fund.

“And every year our rent goes up and our paychecks seem to get tighter and tighter, all because of rising rent and the lack of affordable housing and strong tenant rights. It doesn’t have to be this way. Our budget should go to rental assistance, eviction protection and other people-first housing programs through the Housing Trust Fund.”

Kimi Honzaki also spoke.

Honzaki is a Muslim woman who represents the multifaith organization Corazón Arizona. She is also an interpreter and birth doula, specializing in assisting Spanish-speaking mothers through their pregnancies. Honzaki advocates for paid leave, drawing on both her personal life and professional background. Honzaki notes her faith emphasizes care for the family but also mentions a lack of care received during the birth of her second daughter when her husband couldn’t take time off. Now, working to assist growing families herself, Honzaki believes a state implementation of paid leave would be for the greater good of Arizona.

“I see many don’t have the support to take the time off, which will enable them to better care for and bond with their babies and their families. This is important for all of us, and we tax the state as a whole. State and paid leave would fulfill a crucial need for our state and will have a huge positive implication for all Arizonans and their families. And companies also benefit in the form of higher retention of their valued workers and greater satisfaction overall.”

All of the speakers hope state lawmakers will take their perspectives into account as they finish up this legislative session.

Kenny Rasmussen, Cronkite News

HOST INTRO: The bond between a dog and its human is unbreakable, especially when they’re both on the streets. Cronkite News’ Ayana Hamilton reports that shelters have recently discovered that allowing pets gets more people off the streets.

By one estimate, 5 to 10% of the homeless have dogs or cats. The rate is as high as 24% in some areas of the country.

Genevieve Frederick is the founder and president of Feeding Pets of the Homeless. She says people have misconceptions about people experiencing homelessness owning pets.

“Most people who do not have a pet, who don’t understand that animal-human bond, that unconditional love that a dog or cat gives to that person. If they don’t understand that, then they think homeless people shouldn’t have a pet, but I can tell you that all the vets and doctors we work with, they say that these animals are well-fed.”

Frederick says people stay on the streets if their pet isn’t welcomed in the shelter, so they really count on the veterinary and food services Feeding Pets of the Homeless provides.

Union Rescue Mission provides meals, safe shelter, and recovery programs for people experiencing homelessness. CEO Rev. Andy Bales says their latest building in South LA is designed to welcome pets.

“Well, we’ve realized through the years how important pets are. They’ve loved our guests with unconditional love and perhaps at times been the only being, I guess, that has stuck by their side. We knew they would not come in without their pets.”

Bales says they want to have the ability to welcome pets and have ample services for them.

A bill winding its way through the California legislature would make state grants available to qualified homeless and domestic violence shelters.

Meaning it would expand its services to allow pets.

The legislature finds that “many shelters, motels, and assisted housing programs do not permit animals on their property, pushing potential recipients to live in cars, recreational vehicles, and tent camps.”

One organization, My Dog Is My Home, addressed the bill at a recent conference.

Board member Christine Kim says shelters welcoming pets are a part of the larger conversation on ending homelessness altogether.

“We do think it’s about ending homelessness, but it’s also about the quality of services that are being provided and providing trauma-informed care by recognizing that animal really means something to that person and that relationship is sometimes the only thing that they have is a constant source of support and companionship. We should not be asking people to give that up.”

The organization People Assisting the Homeless or PATH co-hosted the conference. Representatives talked about the success of their animal program within the interim housing facility.

PATH resident Krystal Eubanks and her service dog Keeper attended the conference. She recommends PATH to anyone who’s experiencing homelessness.

“I used to always say I would much rather sleep on the streets than be without my dog, and that’s still a fact, but PATH makes me feel like I don’t have to sleep on the streets. PATH makes me feel like I’m never gonna be without my dog.”

Eubanks is one of many people who are safer and happier with their pets in shelters. My Dog Is My Home is dedicated to preserving the human-animal bond in circumstances of homelessness, not just in Los Angeles but across the country.

For Cronkite News Los Angeles, I’m Ayana Hamilton.

HOST INTRO: A local nonprofit project is bringing state-issued identification cards to the homeless people in Phoenix. Izabella Hernandez has more on this.

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It started as an experimental project in 1987, by Rev. Gerald Roseberry. He spent a month living with the homeless and observed they did not have proper state identification. This turned into 36 years of investment into getting the homeless an ID

Now what is known as the Homeless I.D Project is located in the Human Services Campus in downtown Phoenix. It is one of many services offered directly to the homeless.

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One major part of the project is the partnership with the United States Postal Service. The post office located at the same campus makes it possible for the homeless to receive mail with a valid street address.

“We worked out an arrangement with the U.S. post office.”

This is Rick Mitchell. He’s the executive director of the project.

Mail is held for 30 days and then sent back to the sender at a normal post office, but the systems work differently at the Human Services Campus.

The project holds documents that are received through the campus post office instead of the mail being sent back to the original sender.

RICK MITCHELL: “So they know we store documents and by keeping those documents here we don’t have to apply again and spend another 70 dollars to get a birth certificate from Pennsylvania.”

This even works long term.

RICK MITCHELL: “And we will see people you know periodically come and say ‘I was here, I think five years ago, and I don’t remember, and I ended up in prison for five years and can you guy help me?’ And we look in our file and sure enough we have a birth certificate and that’s all we need to take to the next step to get a state ID for them.”

You need to have an ID to apply for housing, obtain employment and health care.

The project has launched a fundraising campaign called 1000 Voices.

RICK MITCHELL: “I have talked a little about the 1000 Voices, that if we can get people talking about understanding what homelessness is and that sort of thing that we go towards solving the problem. We don’t solve it unless we understand it right, and we don’t understand unless we talk about it.”

The general public can get involved with the project through volunteering, and currently there are 10 volunteer spots available.

Izabella Hernandez, Cronkite News.

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This semester’s final CN2Go was hosted and produced by me, Kenny Rasmussen. I had help from Roxanne De La Rosa, Izabella Hernandez, Ayana Hamilton and Amber Victoria Singer.

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You can learn more about the stories you heard in today’s episode by going to cronkitenews.azpbs.org.

Once again, I’m Kenny Rasmussen, nd that’s all for CN2Go.

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