Local opinion: Support those taking the right steps on homelessness

It goes against our values to allow unsheltered persons to languish and die on the streets of Tucson while beds sit empty in our emergency shelters. Yet this happens almost every day. This year, on an average day, there are approximately 1,500 people living without shelter in Tucson, while at the same time, there are over 300 empty emergency shelter beds available on any typical day. As a result, over 200 homeless persons died on the streets during 2022, and that number will likely grow to 300 this year. This means that every week that we don’t take action on this housing crisis, an average of four people die unsheltered.

Unsheltered individuals were abandoned by those institutions that are responsible for helping, and then blamed for their very existence in our community. Their encampments are pushed from one side of town to another. Neighbors and businesses cut down the shade trees that offer them respite in summer. State lawmakers push legislation that criminalizes their conditions, while local business and community leaders suggest these neighbors be herded into “sanctioned encampments” that are no better than their current encampments, except that they will be out of sight.

Homeless advocates rightly protest the maltreatment of our unsheltered neighbors, momentarily catching our attention. The Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness, the largest funder of homeless housing vouchers in Pima County, remains mired in a bureaucracy that delays access to housing vouchers and lifesaving services. And in the end, year after year, more people are unsheltered, and more people die on the streets and in the desert surrounding our community. Fortunately, there are evidence-based solutions to this problem. And fortunately, the City of Tucson, Pima County, and the Governor’s Office are taking steps to address this problem.

With the election right around the corner, there has been an influx of opinions about how to address homelessness in Tucson. As a professional working to address homelessness in Tucson over the last fifteen years, I will add my opinion on this subject.

In short, efforts by the City of Tucson, Pima County, and the Governor’s Office, are all headed in the right direction. Through the implementation of the Housing First Program, the City of Tucson has increased accessible shelter beds for the people who need them most. Pima County has taken bold steps to increase funding for construction of affordable housing, provide financial support and shelter for persons facing eviction, and implemented a Housing First solution for justice involved households. And the Governor’s Office, through historic investments in the Housing Trust Fund, is supporting the creation of more accessible shelter. These efforts show true leadership and a willingness to take risks to do what is right. Tucson is a kind and generous community where citizens care about each other. I hope that our community will further support investments in effective solutions, starting with rapid investments in compassionate emergency shelter beds.

The only remaining problem is that there simply aren’t enough resources dedicated to these effective solutions to homelessness, and most people don’t yet know that the problem of homelessness can be solved. The truth is that to solve this problem, and stop watching our neighbors die on the streets, we will need to invest significantly more tax dollars for accessible, compassionate, non-judgmental emergency shelter, and start construction of more affordable housing. And we will need to stop arguing and start collaboratively taking action. If arguing about the problem and holding meetings could solve the problem, we would have already ended homelessness.

So, the next time you see someone on the streets, show them kindness, but also remind yourself to support government, health providers, and shelters that do the right thing by offering accessible, compassionate shelter instead of empty beds.