PHOENIX — State-issued IDs are essential to obtaining services and employment, but for those experiencing homelessness getting to a location that distributes them can be problematic if not impossible.
A new partnership between the Homeless ID Project and the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division, however, is working to make getting an ID more accessible for people who are unsheltered.
“Clients who come to us for replacement ID services encounter one more barrier when faced with the 45-minute bus ride to the nearest MVD office. Now with MVD services available on campus, that barrier is removed. This is a huge win for our clients,” said Rick Mitchell, the executive director of the Homeless ID Project.
The partnership has allowed the Human Services Campus near downtown Phoenix to issue IDs with the establishment of a TeleMVD at its campus.
The setup includes all the necessary equipment such as a computer, printer and scanner, and camera, along with a representative from the DMV.
The TeleDMV is staffed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“This is another great opportunity where MVD can serve the community in ways previously not possible,” said Eric Jorgensen, the motor vehicle division director with ADOT. “This partnership is a first step in using technology to expand our reach and get services to the place they are needed at the moment our customers need them.”
The Human Services Campus is a collaboration between 16 partner organizations with the shared goal of ending homelessness.
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