Austin VanDerHeyden is the Municipal Affairs Liaison for the Goldwater Institute | Goldwater Institute
Austin VanDerHeyden is the Municipal Affairs Liaison for the Goldwater Institute | Goldwater Institute
A policy report produced by The Goldwater Institute examining homelessness in Maricopa County shows that the rate of homelessness and the homeless population continues to rise throughout the area despite over $180 million spent by the city of Phoenix to combat the issue.
The Institute’s policy report details that despite a reported allocation of about $140 million to Phoenix’s Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) to address the issue of homelessness in the city, close examination of “public records such as ordinances, budget reports and contracts shows that Phoenix has actually allocated over $180 million to homelessness services since 2021 through a combination of federal, state and local funding – far more than reported by OHS.”
According to the analysis by Goldwater, "Phoenix and Tucson’s spending on combating it is anything but transparent" and that both cities "have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into various efforts to fight homelessness, yet the homeless population remains stubbornly high and continues to grow.”
Austin VanDerHeyden, Municipal Affairs Liaison for the Goldwater Institute, appeared on a recent episode of the Grand Canyon Times podcast to discuss the report and the Institute’s efforts to help citizens in both Phoenix and Tucson affected by the issue of homelessness.
“The point of our property taxes is to receive the public services that the city provides, really owes to us. And when you’re not receiving those services, we think that you should be able to get a portion of your property tax back. And so it’s not going to fix the problem entirely, but it’s certainly going to help,” said VanDerHeyden.
According to the report, in the past several years, homelessness has risen dramatically in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, as well as in Pima County.
“Honestly, we’re just trying to help the law-abiding citizens, the business owners, the property owners who have had to really take matters into their own hands here," VanDerHeyden said about the report. "If you’ve had to build a fence up to, to block off your property, hire private security, put in a security system, whatever it may be, you can take off a portion or file a tax credit to receive a portion of your property taxes back."
Established in 1998 and based in Phoenix, The Goldwater Institute is a nonprofit public policy research and litigation organization, which promotes free-market principles and limited government. Named after U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater (R-AZ), the Institute conducts research, provides policy recommendations and engages in litigation to protect individual rights and state sovereignty. It focuses on various policy areas, including education, healthcare and property rights.
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How much did the city of Phoenix spend on fighting homelessness?
| Property, Housing & Rapid Rehousing, Outreach for Shelter Support Services |
| Shelter Space and General Contracting Services |
| Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, Hotel Operation |
| Housing, Shelter and Homeless Support Services |
| Behavioral Health/Mental Health Services |
| Relief Sprung Structure for Shelter |
| Shelter, Street Outreach |
| Rapid Rehousing, Homeless Youth Reunification (includes possible hotel operation) |
| Shelter, Street Outreach |
| X-Wing Shelter Units |
| Homelessness Prevention, Including GED and Job Training |
| Workforce Villages – Paying Housing Costs |
| Shelter for Homeless Minors |
| Criminal Justice for Homeless/Outreach |
**source: Goldwater Institute
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