Phoenix city leaders will work to provide resources to curb homelessness for current homeless residents of Phoenix through a new plan which started Feb. 10.
Phoenix’s Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness creates proactive measures, such as intervention efforts and housing-focused services, to prevent homelessness while still providing resources for those who are currently homeless.
This prevention will be done through interventions like rent assistance, eviction prevention and early outreach by providing services for those who are exiting justice or behavioral health systems, the plan said.
Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) director Rachel Milne said the plan will decrease the number of people who become homeless, decrease the number of people in a shelter and shorten the length of time in a shelter.
The plan will also increase the availability of housing for those experiencing homelessness and increase awareness of available services, Milne said.
Services according to the plan will include mental health assistance and job assistance.
Margaret Adams, OHS special projects administrator, said the plan identifies those most at risk for homelessness and enters them into the homeless response system.
Officials with the OHS will partner with various agencies and collaborators to look through data from an old plan and refine the strategies, Adams said.
“We really want to focus on expanding the success that we’ve seen in our community,” Adams said. “These strategies are really going to help us continue to do what is working and scale our services.”
The plan was approved unanimously by the Phoenix City Council.
District 1 Councilmember Ann O’Brien said she worked on a similar plan in 2023 to develop practical strategies with a key component addressing the root of the problem.
“It aims to break the cycle of homelessness and residualism by connecting people with health services, treatment, housing resources and job training,” O’Brien said.
Phoenix Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington said for every one person who leaves a shelter, two people enter into homelessness.
“I think it’s important for us to remind our community that this is a complex issue. There’s a lot of factors that go into this,” Washington said.
The city’s job is to take accountability for the homelessness crisis and ensure it is learning and changing, Washington said.
District 7 Council member Anna Hernandez said she was highly encouraged due to the mention of accountability in the plan.
“Our policies will be stronger if we really take into account the experience of our folks that have lived experience or opposition,” Hernandez said.
This 2026 plan is an update of one from 2020, which is already positively impacting the community, OHS Director Rachel Milne said.
“The city will build on this progress and strive to continuously improve on and expand our services through prevention, housing and housing solutions,” Milne said.
The initiative’s main goals are prevention, safety, coordination, housing and accountability, Milne said.
“The City of Phoenix will strive to prevent homelessness when we can, make it brief when it happens and keep people in stable housing with the support they need,” Milne said.
Edited by Shi Bradley
