Arizona Housing Funds offers grant dollars to fuel housing outreach programs
Staff Reports | Digital Free Press
In 2022 there were about 13,500 souls who were living homeless in Arizona in 2022, with 59.2% living unsheltered, according to numbers published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
As Arizona leaders continue to cope with its homelessness crisis, a number of nonprofits are working diligently to build or convert hotels and apartment buildings into housing that will help homeless individuals and families get out of shelters and off the streets.
The Arizona Housing Fund is announcing $500K in grants to four nonprofits for projects that will help provide homes to Arizona’s most vulnerable individuals and families.
Arizona Housing Funds offers grant dollars to fuel housing outreach programs
Central Arizona Shelter Services received a $100,000 grant for their Senior Haven project in Phoenix. The Haven will provide 134 units of transitional and emergency housing for senior citizens experiencing homelessness. The AZHF grant will help fund the renovation of the former hotel at 8152 N. Black Canyon Highway.
Permanent, supportive services provided at the property include case management support, three meals daily, health and wellness classes and activities, on-site medical care through Circle the City, therapeutic and recreational engagement activities, mental health partner services, job workshops and vocational training, and transportation and housing support. Clients may keep their pets with them, and CASS expects The Haven to be open by December 2023.
Housing for Hope received a $150,000 grant for their Pinyon Pointe Apartments project in Page, Arizona. The grant will help convert a 20-unit apartment complex into permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals. The AZHF grant will help fund an unexpected increase in construction costs. This project, located at 75 7th Avenue in Page, will bring critically needed housing options for those experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty in Page, and will provide wrap-around services to help residents work toward permanent housing stability. The project will begin demo and construction in late July and is expected to be completed in December.
Housing Solutions for Northern Arizona received a $150,000 grant for JoJo’s Place Transitional Housing in Flagstaff, Ariz. JoJo’s Place will provide 44 units of transitional housing to households experiencing homelessness in Flagstaff. The project is a conversion of an existing hotel property located at 2918 E. Route 66, Flagstaff. Hotel units will be converted into studio apartments, which will be leased to low-income households experiencing homelessness. Rent will be based on household income. Residents can stay for up to 24 months and will benefit from on-site housing-based case management services, including mental health support and healthcare services. Funding from the Arizona Housing Fund will help pay for construction cost increases. Construction will be completed in the fall of 2023.
Native American Connections received a $100,000 grant for their Osborn Pointe project, which will provide 48 units of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless or disabled adults in Phoenix. The building, located at 3406 N. 3rd Street, Phoenix, will provide stable, secure, furnished housing with wraparound services to people who would otherwise be chronically homeless and living on the streets and adults with disabilities in need of housing. Residents of Osborn Point will be provided with services that create community, connect people to healthcare resources, foster educational opportunities and financial literacy, and maintain food security and wellness. AZHF funding will be used to help furnish Osborn Pointe. Osborn Point is scheduled to open in late 2024.
“The creation of the Arizona Housing Fund has been a game changer in helping housing projects across Arizona to complete both more affordable and transitional housing projects,” says CASS CEO Lisa Glow. “At a time of great need, the Arizona Housing Fund will help CASS to move hundreds of aging adults off the streets and into safety at the new 170-bed CASS Senior Haven.”
AZHF grants were voted upon and approved by the Arizona Housing Fund Advisory Committee. Since the Arizona Housing Fund was founded in 2019, it has received over $1.6 million in donations from the private sector, and a total of $1.35 million in grants have been distributed.
