Compassion and a desire to make a difference can go a long way. Just ask Arizona PhD student Liza Kurtz.
Liza recently purchased a home in Phoenix, where she's working on heat and health as part of her studies. She got some real-life application of those skills when she discovered a homeless couple were living in a tent on the porch of the home she purchased.
The couple were staying with permission of the previous owner, who agreed to let them keep an eye on the place until it sold. They anticipated the new owner would tell them to move on, but that wasn't Liza's way.
"Of course we're not going to move you on when the next place you go is a stretch of concrete with no shade, when the summer is coming on and things are heating up. It really is a health and safety issue in a lot of ways," Liza told Inside Edition of her reasoning.
The hot weather caused the couple to put up a tarp to protect themselves from the heat. That resulted in a notice of ordinance violation for Liza. She decided to reach out to the city and work with them on the matter.
"I was literally like, 'OK, there's these two separate systems that are interacting and touching and they're in conflict with one another, what can we do to resolve that and get on the same page?'"
Aside from working with the city for an amicable resolution, Liza and others in the neighborhood have also been helping the couple to get back on their feet. Both members of the couple have secured job interviews and are optimistic about the future.
"That's really only been able to happen because they have somewhere to shower, they have somewhere to do laundry, they have a safe place to leave their stuff that's not on the street and it'll be there when they get back," Liza noted.
"Sometimes all people need is that little respite, that little nudge."
