the Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH) announced it will be awarding nearly $20 million in grants to local governments from the newly-created Homeless Shelter and Services (HSS) Fund to provide shelter and other services to people experiencing homelessness. The City of Phoenix will be awarded $13.3 million.
“The City of Phoenix is grateful for this new partnership with the Arizona Department of Housing, and we are looking forward to seeing the results of collective investments from cities across the state. Together, we can make real progress towards finding long-term solutions to house each and every Arizonan,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.
The grant funding will be dedicated to creating additional shelter options and services for people staying in the area around the Human Services Campus in downtown Phoenix. The City continues to take a targeted approach to address the city’s largest encampment, accelerating existing plans to connect unsheltered residents with needed resources and services, and increasing resources to meet the demand.
These City’s strategic multi-pronged approach to addressing homelessness is led by the Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS). OHS provides support for people experiencing homelessness and is committed to ending homelessness through a comprehensive, regional approach to shelter and heat relief, outreach, supportive and behavioral health services, homelessness prevention, and supportive housing.
OHS has already committed $140 million dollars to homeless solutions since July 2021, with a significant portion of that funding going toward funding ongoing projects that will stretch into at least 2024. This has resulted in nearly 600 additional shelter beds and 800 more in the pipeline, long-term storage options and more.
