Valley of the Sun United Way, the City of Tempe and the Arizona Department of Health Services are partnering to develop a permanent supportive housing pilot project. The pilot will help nearly three dozen homeless people get off the street and into homes throughout the Tempe area. In addition to creating long-term benefits for the entire community, the pilot will support chronically homeless individuals with disabilities by providing 35 units of affordable housing, and access to services that ultimately will allow them to lead stable, independent lives.

“Tempe is dedicated to providing housing alternatives for people who want to live here,” said Councilmember Corey Woods, who chairs Tempe’s Affordable Housing Subcommittee. “Partnering with Valley of the Sun United Way is a great way for Tempe to continue to address the issue of people experiencing homelessness who want to become productive members of the community.”

According to statistics, approximately 20 percent of homeless individuals in Maricopa County are chronically homeless, meaning they have been homeless for more than one year. These individuals consume an estimated 50 percent of the homelessness emergency resources available. Permanent Supportive Housing has proven an effective strategy in communities across the nation to stabilize and end homelessness for individuals who are chronically homeless. Homeless individuals can become contributing participants in community life again, and in turn, other emergency resource providers, like homeless shelters, are free to assist individuals who are experiencing homelessness for the first time. Additionally, as homeless individuals increase their self-sufficiency, usage of public systems services such as police, fire and emergency rooms is greatly reduced – creating additional positive impacts across the community.

“In our efforts to expand Project Homeless Connect across Maricopa County, we have seen the needs of homeless individuals in each community,” said Merl Waschler, Valley of the Sun United Way President and CEO. “We are committed to meeting these needs and reducing homelessness throughout Maricopa County by 75 percent by 2020. To this end, we will continue to bring the right partners together to address these issues at a regional level and build upon the success of the Permanent Supportive Housing pilot and partnership with the City of Tempe.”

According to the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a nationally recognized community development financial institution, 1,000 units of permanent supportive housing are needed to end chronic homelessness for individuals in Maricopa County. To meet this long-term need, Valley of the Sun United Way is working to secure 250 permanent supportive housing units as part of the initiative’s first phase over the next two years. Valley of the Sun United Way will call on the support of other nonprofits, state and local government, housing experts and the broader community to meet individual city’s needs, implement similar programs and end homelessness completely.