Maricopa Association of Governments recently released its annual Point-In-Time homeless count, resulting in 115 unsheltered homeless people in Peoria, compared to 83 in the last count, an increase of nearly 40%.
Peoria more than tripled its homelessness count from 2017 to 2019 — from 22 to 78, according to the MAG.
City officials have been taking measures to curtail homeless in the city as the pandemic has exacerbated the problem over the last couple years.
The Point-In-Time count is a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January.
Data from the count helps researchers understand more about the population experiencing homelessness in the region and can lead to solutions that will make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring, according to its website.
After the count, data is cross-checked for duplicates, updated and combined with the number of people in shelters. The numbers are then submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for its nationwide Annual Homeless Report.
Cities are required to do a count at least once every two years, but due to the pandemic, Peoria and other cities did not do a Point-In-Time count in 2021.
To get a fuller picture of the homeless situation in Peoria the city in partnership with Phoenix Rescue Mission tracks the number of homeless individuals police and other officials engage with.
Neighborhood and Human Services Director Chris Hallett said that from October 2019 to January 2022 the city engaged with 677 homeless individuals, or about 24 engagements a month.
Annually within a budget cycle, that is pretty consistent historically, he added.
“It is about 250 individuals per year that we are interacting with throughout the budget cycle, so its important to marry up that number as opposed to the Point-In-Time number that we tend to put a lot of value in,” he said.
Of those 250 individuals, 99 were placed in a shelter, 16 were placed in permanent housing, and 30 were taken to Central Arizona Shelter Services.
CASS provides homeless individuals a place to sleep, as well as wrap-around case management and supportive services to help the homeless find employment and move into permanent housing.
Last November Peoria City Council approved three-year contracts not to exceed $200,000 per year with Deep Within Rehab and Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest for homeless shelter services, in particular, shelter beds.
Funding for the contracts is through the American Rescue Plan Act grant.
Deep Within provides substance abuse recovery to men age 17 and older, many of whom have been homeless.
Deep Within’s contract with the city provides up to eight beds per night, three meals per day, hygiene items, all day shelter and case management services until moved to permanent housing, as well as substance abuse assistance if needed.
Under the agreement the Deep Within shelter will be accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for homeless individuals. The partnership has set a one-year goal to serve 90 individuals and provide 2,900 bed nights.
Additionally, as part of the council approval last November, nonprofit homeless provider Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest will make their program, Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program, or I-HELP, available to Peoria homeless.
I-HELP is an interfaith homeless emergency lodging program that uses rotating houses of worship located in Peoria or the West Valley to temporarily house homeless individuals.
Under this contract, I-HELP will shelter a minimum of two Peoria clients, two nights per week. Within six months, shelter nights will be expanded to four nights per week. I-HELP has the capacity to serve up to 12 beds per night, Monday through Friday.
The partnership has set a one-year goal to serve 60 individuals and provide 1,800 bed nights.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
Maricopa Association of Governments,
Point-In-Time homeless count,
Peoria,
Arizona,
Neighborhood and Human Services,
Chris Hallett,
Central Arizona Shelter Services,
CASS,
homeless,
Deep Within Rehab,
Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest,
shelters
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