City Hall offers facts to consider as bridge housing program is up for renewal
Staff Reports | Digital Free Press
Scottsdale City Council Wednesday, Aug. 21, is expected to deliberate a contract to extend the municipal bridge housing program officials at City Hall say provides temporary lodging for Scottsdale residents who are seniors or families with minor children who meet specific program criteria.
Item No. 6 of the Scottsdale City Council regular agenda requests approval of a $190,000 contract with a local hotel for five rooms to be used through May 2025, records show.
The money comes from an Arizona Department of Housing grant previously accepted by the City Council in June 2023.
This extension would be funded with savings from that grant — no city dollars would be used, City Hall officials tell the Digital Free Press.
The location of the hotel remains the same as with previous program contracts, this extension would fund five rooms, down from the 10 rooms, City Hall officials say.
City Hall: Scottsdale bridge housing program meant to prevent homelessness
The Scottsdale bridge housing program provides temporary lodging — a time period between 30 to 120 days — for seniors over age 62 and families with minor children who have been displaced from their Scottsdale homes.
In addition to those requirements, participants must also provide proof of legal U.S. residency and proof of a residential address in Scottsdale within the previous six months, officials at City Hall confirm. The Scottsdale program does not take U.S. immigration referrals through Title 42 or other sources.
Of Note: Persons who are considered chronically homeless (someone who has been homeless for more than a year), or repeatedly in and out of homelessness, with disabling conditions such as serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability are not eligible and do not receive assistance through this program.
The effectiveness of the Scottsdale bridge housing program
Since its inception in October 2022, Scottsdale Human Services assisted 168 individuals through this program, with an 86% success rate: people who received housing and services then exited into a secure living situation, officials at City Hall report.
City Hall leaders have received numerous notes of thanks from people who received assistance through the bridge housing program.
Last year, a disabled woman and her husband (ages 71 and 80) described facing homelessness when a steep rent increase meant they could no longer afford their apartment in Scottsdale.
“We are grateful to the city for keeping my husband and myself safe for the several weeks we needed shelter,” they wrote City Hall, officials report to the Digital Free Press.
Those experiencing homelessness is a complex challenge for all
Scottsdale’s Human Services staff routinely assist city residents who are being displaced from their homes due to rising rents and a decreasing number of affordable rents and mortgages.
The bridge housing program is one tool available to help – it is a “life raft” for people in difficult situations who may fall into homelessness without it.
On a larger scale, the Housing Choice Voucher Program assists eligible families by subsidizing a portion of their rent, but there is far more need than housing units available.
Scottsdale’s program has 52 seniors and 284 disabled families on the program waitlist. Scottsdale also operates three senior affordable housing properties with nearly 200 people on the waitlist.
Scottsdale assisted 60 seniors with rent and eviction prevention in the last 12 months and provided 7 seniors with tenant based rental assistance vouchers with 5 more in the application process.
Additionally, 14 veterans, referred by the VA, were provided with supportive housing vouchers. Presently, 330 unhoused people are on a waitlist for affordable housing in Scottsdale.
Concerns with homelessness and panhandling abound
According to the 2024 Point-in-Time Count conducted by the Maricopa Association of Governments, there are 89 unsheltered individuals living in Scottsdale among the more than 4,000 unsheltered people across Maricopa County.
To reduce panhandling activity in public rights of way, which is often dangerous to individuals and motorists, the city employs “no panhandling” signs that encourage people to donate to social service agencies rather than hand money to people on the streets.
Since its launch in 2018, this program has been emulated by many cities across the Valley.
The City Council will also consider amending its public camping ordinance (Ord. 4644) in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upholds a community’s ability to enforce overnight camping restrictions in its parks, streets and public places.
The proposed amendment will remove the ordinance requirement that shelter space must be available prior to enforcement. Under the revised ordinance, an individual violating the ordinance will be given a reasonable opportunity to relocate prior to the issuance of a citation or an arrest.
