Local
Arizona Splits $16 Million in Housing Trust Fund Grants Across 19 Homeless Service Providers
Governor Katie Hobbs and the Arizona Department of Housing awarded $16 million from the state Housing Trust Fund to 19 organizations and local governments to expand shelter capacity and services. UMOM New Day Centers and Flagstaff Shelter Services each received $2 million, the largest awards, while Phoenix, Tucson, Keys to Change, COPA Health and Primavera Foundation each got $1 million.
Arizona has awarded $16 million in grants to 19 community organizations and local governments to expand homeless shelters and support services statewide, drawing on the state's Housing Trust Fund.
Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Arizona Department of Housing announced the awards on Oct. 23. The money will help recipients build additional shelter units and sustain services for Arizonans experiencing homelessness.
UMOM New Day Centers and Flagstaff Shelter Services each received $2 million, the largest individual grants. UMOM CEO Monique Lopez said the investment will help the organization provide "safe shelter, stability and a pathway forward for hundreds of women experiencing homelessness each year."
Other major recipients â the City of Phoenix, the City of Tucson, Keys to Change, COPA Health and Primavera Foundation â will each receive $1 million.
In the Phoenix area, additional grants include $901,000 for Central Arizona Shelter Services, $700,000 for Phoenix Dream Center, and $500,000 each for A New Leaf and Justa Center. Funding also reaches organizations in Mesa, Tucson, Flagstaff, Prescott, Sierra Vista, Kingman and Bullhead City.
"Access to safe shelter is critical for the security and well-being of Arizonans," Hobbs said. "With this funding, we will ensure more Arizona families have a roof over their heads and the services they need to get back on their feet."
Demand far outstripped supply: ADOH Director Ruby Dhillon-Williams said the department received 78 applications for the $16 million available.
"Our focus is on meeting that need and putting forth funding solutions that help reduce the number of unhoused Arizonans," Dhillon-Williams said.
The grants are part of a broader set of homelessness and housing investments during the Hobbs administration, including $60 million for the Homeless Shelter and Services Fund, $38 million through the State Housing Trust Fund for housing insecurity prevention and rapid rehousing, and $13.5 million for eviction prevention and homelessness response. Additional funding has gone toward housing programs for veterans and people re-entering communities after criminal justice involvement.
The announcement comes as family homelessness remains a pressing concern in the Phoenix area. In Tempe, the nonprofit AZ Hugs has been organizing families living in a Motel 6 to press city officials for homeless assistance, part of an ongoing push for state support amid what advocates describe as a crisis of family homelessness across the Valley.