In Glendale, hidden in the rear of the small community church First Christian Church of the Discipulos de Cristo denomination, a construction project is underway. Family Promise of Greater Phoenix, a community-based family shelter, is building a small-scale housing development — out of shipping containers.
Dubbed “Family Promise’s Legacy Village,” the development is smack in the middle of the 85301 ZIP code that contains Glendale’s downtown. That’s no coincidence. And as Maricopa County heads toward a new evictions record in 2024, the nine-square-mile area has been hit the hardest.
Since October 2023, there have been a whopping 2,878 evictions filed in the 85031 ZIP code alone — almost 150 more than any other ZIP code in the county, according to Maricopa County Justice Courts data. More than 21% of renters in the area, which is 46% Hispanic, have faced eviction over the last year, according to Eviction Lab. Just last month, nearly 250 evictions were filed in 85301…