Situation in Phoenix Homeless Camp Remains in Disarray as Citizens Speak Against City in Court

Attorneys representing a group of Phoenix business owners argued in court against the City of Phoenix (COP) Thursday regarding one of the largest homeless camps in the nation, “the Zone.” The Arizona-based Goldwater Institute (GI) said residential testimony revealed how dire the situation has become.

“Thursday’s hearing was on the city’s effort to throw out this case, brought by neighborhood property owners against the city for maintaining a gigantic homeless encampment, which is destroying neighborhood businesses and properties. The testimony revealed startling examples of the pollution, crime indecency, and violence that goes on in The Zone,” said GI Vice President of Legal Affairs Timothy Sandefur in a statement emailed to the Arizona Sun Times.

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Baltimore to Spend $90 Million in Federal Funds on Hotels for Homeless and Other Homeless Programs

Baltimore plans to spend $90.4 million of federal funds to buy hotels to replace existing homeless shelters and support other homelessness programs, The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday.

The city has not yet announced which hotels it will buy, but it plans to replace 275 existing beds in several shelters with private rooms in city-owned hotels, the Sun reported.

“Non-congregate shelter is a best practice we’re seeing throughout the nation,” Director of the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services Irene Agustin told the Sun. “We know this is an intervention that’s going to work within the city of Baltimore.”

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State of Arizona to Invest Millions to Fight Homelessness

Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH) on Tuesday detailed that the state will invest $15.35 million in federal funding for projects to combat homelessness.

Specifically, the grant money will be allocated to three projects in three different cities throughout the state: Flagstaff, Kingman, and Phoenix.

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Phoenix City Council Allocates $8 Million in CARES Funding for Homeless Shelters

Phoenix City Council approved $8 million in CARES Act Funding for two nonprofit organizations to provide homeless shelter services. The contracts began on Thursday and end June 2023. 

These contracts are the latest effort to mitigate over 7,400 individuals that make up Phoenix’s homeless population – an estimated 11 percent increase from the 2019. Currently, there are only enough shelter beds for approximately 23 percent of the city’s homeless population.

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