Phoenix CHR Supports Adding Shelter Beds At Human Services Campus

Press release from Human Services Campus:

Dec. 1, 2020

The Phoenix Commission on Human Relations has issued a formal resolution calling upon Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and the Phoenix City Council to support the effort to add shelter beds at the Human Services Campus (HSC).

The resolution urged support of “this vital measure to provide critical support to our unsheltered population and to further bolster the City’s ongoing efforts to end homelessness within our boundaries and beyond.”

HSC is going through the formal process to seek city approval to add 275 beds to Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), allow Andre House to build a 100-bed low-barrier shelter for highly vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness who may encounter challenges for admission to traditional shelters because of pets and possessions, and allow an additional 200 ad hoc emergency shelter beds in the St. Vincent de Paul dining room during extreme summer and winter weather.

Following a presentation In October that included more than 360 letters of support, the Central City Village Planning Committee voted 6-3 to support the request. A similar presentation will be made before the Phoenix Planning Commission in December and to the Phoenix city council for final approval in early January.

“We are incredibly grateful for the formal resolution from the Phoenix Commission on Human Relations and the supportive vote from the Central City Village Planning Committee in our effort to address the need for more shelter beds,” said HSC Executive Director Amy Schwabenlender. “Helping individuals experiencing homelessness move from street to home begins with access to a shelter bed.”

Through the Human Services Campus’ From Street to Home campaign (www.fromstreettohome.org), more than 17,000 individuals have signed petitions in support of the request.

On Nov. 30, the city will host the second of two “listening sessions” to hear comments about 22 stipulations included with the formal request for additional beds that were written and approved by City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department staff as a result of comments and input gathered at more than 30 community meetings.

Among the stipulations providing additional resources for people on the streets and addressing neighbors’ concerns are:

· Providing additional trash bins throughout the area to reduce the amount of trash

· Providing access to additional public restrooms for people not in shelters, and

· Investing more than $100,000 in daily clean ups and coordinating more regular volunteer-driven neighborhood clean up efforts.

“The number of people on the streets is growing, as is the number of people who are dying on the streets,” Schwabenlender said. “Homelessness is a regional issue and should be addressed in that context, but we must also continue our efforts to serve men and women already on the campus.”

The HSC leads a network of 20 coordinated entry points for single adults in the Valley. In 2019, more than 4,000 individuals received services at other access points and did not come to the campus. The most-recent Point in Time Count of people experiencing homelessness on one night in Maricopa County was 7,419 individuals, an 11% increase from a year ago. More than half were sleeping on the streets or in another place not meant for habitation, a rise of nearly 20% over the previous year.

For more information about the request for additional beds, visit www.fromstreettohome.org. For more information about the Human Services Campus, visit www.hsc-az.org.

This press release was produced by the Human Services Campus. The views expressed here are the author's own.