PHX Reporter

On June 28, the City of Phoenix announced additional plans to continue the robust efforts to address homelessness. In addition to ongoing plans, the City is adding shelters, dedicating safe outdoor space, creating a specialized court to assist unsheltered members of our community and seeking additional locations to build shelter and resource centers.

“Phoenix continues to rise up and lead the way on a human-centered approach to homelessness,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. “Today’s additional steps are part of a larger, concentrated effort to help Phoenicians off the streets and ultimately put them on a path to permanent housing. We will continue investing in both short-term and long-term solutions and services to hopefully put an end to unsheltered homelessness.”  

New Hotel Shelters and Safe Outdoor Space  

The Phoenix City Council voted to accept $13.3 million in grant funding awarded to the City from the Arizona Department of Housing. The money will be used in support of efforts to address the area around the Human Services Campus (HSC) and provide shelter services to individuals experiencing homelessness in that area.  

The funding will be used, in part, to lease two hotels, serving approximately 50 people each, to provide additional temporary shelter space. The first hotel opened in late May. The second will open in early July. These new beds will add to capacity at the Washington Relief Center and other beds for people contacted during the City’s enhanced engagement efforts around the HSC.    

The funding will also be utilized to create a safe outdoor space to support our efforts to address the area around the HSC. The safe outdoor space will serve people by creating an alternative space to engage with unsheltered individuals to help them prepare to move to an indoor location. The Council authorized the City to enter into an agreement with the State of Arizona to license and ultimately purchase a State-owned property at 1537 W. Jackson St. The property has indoor space which will be used as a daytime cooling center for individuals staying in the safe outdoor space during the hot summer months. The City plans to have restrooms, showers and security onsite and most importantly, services to assist people in ending their homelessness. The safe outdoor space would allow for people to more safely camp in shaded areas with basic necessities. The City is proposing to open the location in phases and will continue to evaluate the need as we work to reduce unsheltered homelessness in the designated area.  

Rio Fresco Shelter  

The City Council approved an amendment to the Phoenix Zoning Ordinance to continue the operation of a homeless shelter at 2425 S. 24th St. The City partnered with Community Bridges, INC. (CBI) to lease and operate Rio Fresco, a 117-room hotel, in November 2022. The Council approval allows for the acquisition of the hotel, which will be funded by both the City and Maricopa County and will be owned and operated by CBI.  

Community Court Establishment  

The Council authorized the creation of the Phoenix Community Court, a specialty court which will provide long-term solutions to offenders experiencing homelessness through an alternative path to traditional criminal justice systems.    

The Phoenix Community Court will be a collaboration between multiple City departments including the Municipal Court, Police, City Prosecutor’s Office, Public Defender’s Office and the Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS). The Community Court will provide an alternative approach to the traditional criminal justice system to better support individuals who are experiencing homelessness. The court will assist unsheltered members of our community who are often cited or arrested on misdemeanor charges, such as trespassing and entered into the traditional criminal justice system with limited opportunities to connect with resources and services and establish stable housing.    

The Prosecutor’s Office will review potentially eligible cases for participation in the program.    

OHS navigators will assist eligible individuals in connecting with appropriate resources. City Council also approved the creation of 11 new staff positions to support the Community Court.  

Relocation of Planned Shelter Site

The City of Phoenix is working to identify a new site to build a City-owned shelter and resource center that will serve individuals experiencing homelessness.       

The shelter, which was originally planned to be built at 22 Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road, requires a new location after preconstruction work revealed several challenges, including environmental issues, which made the site unsuitable for construction. It is the City’s goal to have sustainable shelter options available for our unsheltered residents and safety is a top priority.      

The Office of Homeless Solutions is urgently focused on identifying a new location for the shelter, which will provide critically needed indoor shelter space in our city. The site will provide both congregate and non-congregate beds. Wraparound services and workforce development opportunities will also be provided at the site to help individuals end their homelessness and exit shelter to permanent housing.      

The new shelter site is just one part of the City’s commitment to increasing the number of shelter beds available in Phoenix. In 2022, the City partnered to add nearly 600 new shelter beds, we have added 70 so far this year and an additional 840 new shelter and transitional beds are planned for 2023 and 2024.      

Learn more about the City’s efforts to address homelessness at Phoenix.gov/Solutions

Original source can be found here.