Chandler council agrees to spend $1M on providing temporary space for homeless

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

The Chandler City Council received an update recently on how a particular homelessness program has fared in recent months.

The council also authorized almost $1 million in spending for two facilities involved in the program.

Council approved one-year amendments to contracts with Gajanan LLC, for $450,000, along with $525,000 to Metro Zona Hospitality during its Sept. 18 meeting.

Riann Balch, acting director of the city’s Neighborhood Resources department, told council the agreements are part of Chandler's effort in Operation Open Door, a program that has kept many Arizonans off the streets for at least one night.

“These amendments extend agreements with two of our partnering hotels with our non-congregate program,” Balch told the council. “We started this program in 2020, when there was a lack of spaces to go into the congregate setting.”

Balch said final numbers aren't in yet, though to her knowledge, the program served its capacity of 40 people each night of 2025 that it was in effect. 

"We truly believe we are saving lives with these types of programs," Balch said. 

Operation Open Door provides emergency shelter and bridge housing, in the form of hotel or motel rooms, to Chandler residents experiencing homelessness, who are unable to utilize congregate shelter due to capacity limits, mobility limitations, sobriety requirements, behavioral expectations or household composition, according to a staff report.

Vulnerable populations include families with children, older adults and persons with disabilities. Program participants receive intensive case management services and essential resources such as food and clothing through Chandler’s Community Navigation Team.

The goal for each participant household is to exit directly to permanent housing or a longer-term program that provides a transition to permanency, a staff report states.

Operation Open Door was initiated with American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, and CARES Act funds made available to address the negative socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report states. Starting with fiscal 2023, the city has supported the program through general funds at varying levels.

Watch Balch’s entire presentation to the council by clicking here.

Jason W. Brooks can be reached at jbrooks@iniusa.org.  Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our  Civility Guidelines.

INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.