TEMPE, Ariz.- Non-profit organizations across Maricopa County created an encompassing approach to the issues related to homelessness to serve their surrounding communities in a variety of ways. The Maricopa Regional Continuum of Care Point-In-Time Homeless Count reported over 9,000 people experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County in January 2023. According to the report, about half were unsheltered, meaning they were living in a place not meant for human habitation, while the other half were in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or safe haven programs. Of this community reported by the PIT count, 61% identified as White, 28% identified as Black or African-American, 27% identified as Hispanic or Latino, and 5% identified as American Indian or Alaska Native. Six percent of the community identified as either Asian, Pacific Islander or of multiple identities. While homelessness affected all age groups according to the PIT report, adults aged 25 to 44 made up 42% of the population, over 4,000 individuals. “We got folks that dropped out of school when they were very, very young to folks with master’s degrees,” Tempe Homeless Manager Jessica Wright said. “We’ve got single adults, couples, multi-generational households, families; you name it.” With so much diversity represented by the population of the community who experience homelessness, Wright said there is not one single method to help address all their different needs. Wright oversees the operations of Tempe’s HOPE outreach program, which provides connections to shelter and housing for any person in Tempe experiencing homelessness. She said that HOPE relied on many other departments and organizations to effectively help the community, such as Care 7, Tempe Medical, Native American Connections and Phoenix Rescue Mission. “It’s not a very straightforward kind of work, there’s a lot of interrelational pieces to it, and just organization relationship building with it,” Wright said. Maggie’s Place Maggie’s Place offered a safe place to live for pregnant mothers or mothers with newborns experiencing homelessness. Housing and program care exist in five houses across Maricopa County, located in Glendale, Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe. Mothers are allowed to stay throughout their entire pregnancy and up to one year after their baby is born, according to Vice President of Philanthropy Whitney Thistle. Once they leave, moms are considered alumni moms and are allowed to continue to receive support at their Family Success Center in Phoenix. The center offered a St. Mary’s food pantry, a DCS visit site, bus pass distribution, counseling services, and a donation closet, among other services. According to their 2022 Community Impact Report, Maggie’s Place hired a full-time housing stability specialist last year to help current and alumni moms transition into stable housing. The success center and each house also had its own stability specialist to help with case management. The most complex issues that moms at Maggie’s Place dealt with were substance use and domestic violence, according to the report. In 2022, 61% of women reported an opioid addiction while 65% reported a history of substance abuse; 69% of women were survivors of domestic violence while 40% had been hospitalized due to domestic violence. LaShay Whipple, program associate and alumni mom, talked about the number of classes and support groups offered to moms to address these complex issues. “When I do support groups, you can tell the moms get close like that,” she said. “They get that bond with each other where they want to help each other out.” The organization also owned a transitional housing location called the Mary Apartments for mothers in the process of reuniting with their other children and families. They are allowed to stay for two years, according to Whipple. Maggie’s Thrift is a second-hand clothing store open to the public whose proceeds go directly to the organization’s programs. Whipple said that current and alumni moms worked there as part of the job-readiness program, and they received a stipend, on-the-job training and help writing a resume. What set Maggie’s Place apart from other shelters was the continued support and resources offered to alumni moms, according to Whipple. It helped build a community where all the moms still talked and attended events, she said, while their children loved visiting the Family Success Center. “I went to treatment, and once treatment is done, that’s it. You’re on your own,” she said. “Maggie’s Place is not like that.” Native American Connections Native American Connections created 459 affordable housing units in 10 communities across Phoenix and combined safe housing with behavioral health services, job assistance and cultural activities. NAC has four of the largest permanent supporting housing sites in Arizona geared toward helping the chronically homeless, veterans and people with health issues, according to the Senior Director of Homeless Housing Services, Jessica Cruz. Cruz explained that they have priority populations, with Native Americans first, followed by families, and then intravenous drug users. About 60% of their clientele are Native American, she said. “It’s kind of the end of the road,” Cruz said. “Maybe other providers were not as successful.” NAC has an integrated healthcare model, which allows residents to have access to treatment, rehabilitation and counseling, as well as case managers who are on site 24/7, according to Cruz. “If somebody needs some support, they can go downstairs,” Cruz said. “If they’re having trouble with their health, they can go downstairs and talk to a case aid or ask for help.” NAC also operates all of the properties, which Cruz said allowed for a continuum of care across departments. “When somebody is potentially using or is using drugs or substances in their units…We can work with Danelle’s team to make sure that they get an intake and that they’re going to go into treatment,” she said. “And then case management can talk with property management, which is also NAC, to make sure they don’t lose their apartment.” Cruz said NAC also created transitional and emergency youth housing for ages 18 to 26. Case managers have the goal of creating a permanent housing plan with each resident, and also help with life and job skills, along with financial and personal goals. “It’s really just trying to make sure we understand what the youth is going through, getting them connected to the services, like if they need behavioral health services or they need help trying to get any of their vital documents,” Cruz said. The NAC website stated that at the transitional housing site, Saguaro Ki, residents sign a six-month lease agreement with rent based on 30% of their income, which can be renewed twice. There are two HomeBase youth shelters, one in central Phoenix and one in Surprise, that provide access to Drop-in centers where youth can receive free hygiene kits, medical and dental appointment access, and assistance acquiring an ID card, among other services. Danell Trottier, senior director of operations, explained that while any NAC resident has access to behavioral health services, NAC also offers both outpatient treatment and a residential treatment program for substance use and co-occurring disorders. Outpatient consisted of an eight-week program that included counseling, 12-step meetings, case management, and education and skills sessions, according to the NAC website. There are two residential treatment programs, one for adult men and another for women and families with children under five years of age. Trottier said these programs are similar to outpatient treatment, except they live at the treatment center and receive 24-hour care. “Allowing for the family to come in and heal together is essential in keeping the families together and ensuring that everyone is there to stay in treatment,” Trottier said about why they allow families into the residential treatment. Throughout all of their services, NAC includes traditional healing through culturally competent services. They stress that culture and spirituality are essential to healing, and help highlight the shared experiences of clients, according to Trottier. “They tend to bond, some end up being lifelong friends, some just situational,” Trottier said. “They are all supportive of each other.” The Roots of Homelessness Both Cruz and Wright said that trying to help end homelessness requires the ability to look past a person’s immediate needs or issues and find what support or tools they lack access to. “What caused that eviction? Is It substance use, was it the loss of a job and why did they lose that job? Was it the lack of childcare?” Wright asked, pointing out that it won’t always be the same answer. The goals of both organizations have been to get people on their feet and supported in the long run. “We want to figure out what didn’t happen or what could work better, and hope we can make that happen and make those connections for those folks,” Wright said. They keep in mind that it takes an ongoing community effort to effectively make a difference in people's lives. “If it were real simple, and we could end everyone’s homelessness in one try, we would love that,” Wright said. Jessica Cruz Native American Connections Senior Director of Homeless Housing Services Danelle Trottier Native American Connections Senior Director of Operations Overseeing Residential Treatment Jessica Wright City of Tempe Homeless Solutions Manager Jessica_Wright@tempe.gov Whitney Thistle Maggie’s Place Vice President of Philanthropy wthistle@maggiesplace.org LaShay Whipple Maggie’s Place Program Associate lwhipple@maggiesplace.org