A new bill would allow for sanctioned homeless encampments using federal COVID-19 relief funds in Arizona cities.
Senate Bill 1581 would use $50 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds for cities to establish sanctioned homeless encampments.
These encampments would have to include bathrooms, potable water, security and mental health resources for case management. These encampments would make any other form of street camping illegal.
People who criticize the bill said that temporary housing would not help people from getting out of homelessness.
Dorothy Lagway, an Air Force Veteran who works at Catholic Charities MANA House in Phoenix, a community service that provides shelter and housing in Phoenix said there are not enough resources allocated toward solving the homelessness situation.
“The U.S. does a lot abroad, we need some attention at home too,” Lagway said.
In Maricopa County, there were more than 7,000 people on any given night experiencing homelessness in 2020. From 2019 to 2020, the homeless population increased by 12%.
Supporters of the bill such as bill sponsor Sen. David Livingston said people are dying due to a lack of shelter.
“600 people died in Maricopa County last year. We need to quickly find ways to put people in safer environments so they can have shelter, so they can have water,” Livingston said.
In Phoenix, it is illegal to sleep on any land that belongs to the city of Phoenix such as parks, preserves, buildings, or parking lots unless one has a permit from the city department of parks and recreation.
Many cities in Arizona stopped enforcing the law after the 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals ruled in Martin v. Boise that homeless persons could not be punished for sleeping outside on public property if there is nowhere else to go.
Kevin Brown, who works at COTS Men’s Shelter in Phoenix, said homeless encampments won’t solve the problem of homelessness.
“Housing. Getting people into housing. (Homeless encampments) ain’t going to solve the problem,” Brown said.
According to a poll performed by the Cicero Institute, a Texas-based think-tank, 58% of those polled would strongly support Arizona banning camping on the streets and other public places and requiring homeless individuals to move to shelters or designated camping areas.
84% of those polled voted that prioritizing moving homeless individuals from the streets to local shelters or low-cost designated camping facilities would be the best way to solve the unsheltered homelessness issue in the state.
In the first nine months of 2020, more than 500 people died due to reasons like drug overdose and heat exhaustion. Sanctioned tent cities would be built in order to prevent deaths like these.
Three other bills related to homelessness were introduced in the Senate recently.
Senate Bill 1117, which was read for the second time, would allow for 600 affordable housing units to qualify for a tax exemption. The current cap for affordable housing units qualifiable for tax exemptions is 200.
Two other bills, Senate Bill 1531 and Senate Bill 1263, were introduced that would add money to the state’s Housing Trust Fund.
Contact the reporter at dherre15@asu.edu.
