A nonpartisan think tank, the Common Sense Institute Arizona, has released an update on it’s February findings that found approximately $1 billion has been spent on homelessness from both the private and public sector in Arizona.
The report, “Reforming Arizona’s Homeless Service Ecosystem: A Crisis in Need of Triage,” provides an in-depth analysis of Arizona’s escalating homelessness crisis, identifying key gaps in the state’s current service models and offering recommendations for more effective interventions.
Key Findings:
- Funding vs. Outcomes: Arizona is spending over $1 billion annually on homelessness-related services, yet the state’s homeless population has surged by 40% in the last five years. Currently, 53% of individuals experiencing homelessness in Arizona are unsheltered.
- Emergency Shelter Needs: Emergency shelters in Arizona operate at or near capacity, serving nearly 10,000 individuals per year, yet over 6,000 people remain unsheltered on any given night.
- Data Coordination Gaps: Inefficient data sharing between service providers has led to ineffective resource allocation. Arizona currently lacks a unified, by-name list that would allow real-time tracking and service prioritization for individuals experiencing homelessness.
- Impact of Chronic Homelessness: Nearly 26% of Arizona’s homeless population is chronically homeless, requiring more intensive services, treatment options, and housing solutions. Without immediate intervention, this segment will continue to strain emergency systems and long-term care facilities.
- Lack of Affordable Housing: The state faces a severe housing affordability crisis, with a shortage of over 150,000 affordable housing units. This shortage disproportionately impacts those living at or below 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
“Homelessness in Arizona has reached crisis levels,” said Julie Katsel, Jim Kolbe Free Enterprise Fellow. “We know that the current systems haven’t solved the problem so far. This report tries to answer why this issue has become so intractable, and what—besides just injecting more money—should be done differently. Improved coordination, more effective interventions, and better rapid response tactics are critical steps we need to take.”
The. Cloward-Piven strategy unfolding before our eyes. Slowly at first, then all at once. Weak men bring hard times.
What ever is happening in Phoenix is purposely happening behind a plan. Cities everywhere are broke and experience inflation and housing issues. Yet Phoenix has become amongst the highest increase with these people. The Bell Road area has a large number of these distressed people. The increase of such people in a short period is odd. A lot of times it appears they just got off a bus or plane, wearing a backpack, pulling a suitcase behind them. The police allow this happen on multiple levels. They turn a blind eye to the degenerate issues this city is having. Go ahead and Youtube “the royal inn phoenix”
there was an article in the news a day or so ago about a city/council in a BLUE STATE declaring that there would be no more handouts to the ‘homeless/disadvanataged’. Surprisingly these people suddenly up and moved out! Quit giving handouts which just keeps the cycle going. School need bus drivers, business need helpers but I have told some how to get aq job and they walk away. This is just a scam by them so dont waste you own money. Another article a week or so ago was written about a bum panhandling in front of a store. They could not get the guy to go away. Owner then offered a $15 hr job guy refused, so owner made up a sign telling folks about the scammer refusing the offer. Guy moved on its not they cant find work they just dont want it. Stop handouts at all levels.
How about…Bring Back Tent City…close the borders and cut off the drugs..stop housing illegals first instead of AMERICANS..don’t give the homeless the option to be HOMELESS..if you want to do drugs and crap on the side walk you can do it in jail…Ive talked to people that volunteer to help the homeless and they’ve said a lot of what you see on the streets dont want help they want to get high and act like animals..so let them do it in jail..where we dont have to see it or deal with their stealing and vandalizing our stuff.
I think we broke our society, sure looks like this is just the most obvious example. Question is: will we learn, or will we continue to sheepishly follow? I think we only have a short time to decide. And depending on your way of thinking and problem solving we could un-break our society or speed toward total chaos. I can remember a time when more people in America actually lent a hand to each other. But that’s when people were still connected to a sense of belonging as Americans. In that time more people recognized and acknowledged what unified us as a nation. But as the elitists began to gain audience support in spreading the message they alone among us know best. What mattered in our lives changed and we bought into the idea focus on our own lives. Even though it matters, that shift was lifted up as some sort of virtue. That only the low thinkers would ignore it and not adopt change. We went from a strong nation to a weak one. Closing the mental institutions gained audience support with the help of the media rather than decision makers finding a better treatment model that was time tested and worked. Remember many of these changes were ideas and still are central to the global ELITISTS. among us. Now American taxpayers are saddled with funding the continued cost of politicians providing service organizations and pet projects which are still sold to us as the latest solution. Kicking the can down the road or pointing toward a scapegoat doesn’t help anyone. For America to be a leader on the world stage we must be able to stand on the strong foundation that helped unify our country. Following as sheep only brings about more misery. Those American type foundations include family and social support, faith and moral compass, and the ability to imagine and create opportunities for ourselves and our society. Good luck fixing what’s broken using the permission and ideas of leftists.
I noticed the under freeway encampments have moved
I think Pima county has done good service across from DM base on golf links
they put out big dumpster so homeless camp(100-200) can get rid of their trash instead of littering
they also send in people to work with them if possible
If you want to fix homelessness here are some ideas. First, fix the border. The amount of illegal drugs coming in will guarantee you a substantial homeless population. Cheap labor walking into this country illegally is driving down wages which also ensures that you have a homeless population because people simply can’t afford housing. It’s either eat or have a roof over your head, but not both.
Second, Government needs to stop the wasteful spending. Actually, spending needs to be cut by at least 60%. Printing money out of thin air driving up the deficit devaluates the dollar hence inflation. Inflation drives up the cost of homes putting them out of reach for the majority of Americans.
Finally, they keep putting band-aids on the symptoms rather than deal with the root cause. This administration has done more to exacerbate this situation than any other. I only hope enough people are willing to see the light before this is unfixable.
I think NUMBER ONE IS “Putting the phrase” IN GOD WE TRUST back in the United States – not just on the dollar. No God – No Country… seems I’ve heard that someplace before?
All the money goes to the administrative end of this “problem”. i.e. the “service providers” and the politicians themselves. Follow the money you fools, you will find the problem.
Precisely! There is no incentive for the “service providers” to actually reduce homelessness – doing so would put them out of a job. The same reason that government never “fixes” anything.
Dems are great at just throwing other people’s money at things without fixing anything. Then they pat themselves on the back.
Then they skim off some funds for their pockets.
If they really cared about the homeless they would close the border!
Has “Build Back Better” built ANYTHING? What ever happened to Owebama’s “shovel ready projects?” Buried like an old dog turd – shovel ready.
Greed is the problem with Arizona homelessness. Maybe it’s time for donations only services.
And for some reason you think it will all stop with talk? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Bidenomics in action.
AMEN! Biden did this
Precisely! There is no incentive for the “service providers” to actually reduce homelessness – doing so would put them out of a job. The same reason that government never “fixes” anything.