The Arizona Department of Housing awarded Scottsdale $940,000 from the state’s newly created Homeless Shelter and Services Fund that will allow the city to continue an existing program that provides those in need with emergency shelter at a Scottsdale hotel along with assistance from social services caseworkers and nutrition/essential needs support.

For more than a year, Scottsdale has operated a bridge housing program that provides temporary shelter combined with services and support. The effort is among the programs and services offered by Scottdale’s Human Services Department that have resulted in a 44% decrease year-over-year of people experiencing homelessness in the city.

“Scottsdale is grateful to be a Homeless Shelter and Services Fund grant recipient,” Mayor David D. Ortega said. “This award bolsters our efforts to provide homeless individuals and single parent families with access to healthy, safe and decent temporary housing and supportive services.”

How Scottsdale’s bridge housing program works

Scottsdale rents 10 rooms in a local hotel to provide emergency housing for individuals experiencing homelessness. Program eligibility requires participants to work with a caseworker to become self-sufficient and secure stable housing. To date, 84% of participants have secured housing within 30 to 90 days. Last year, this program assisted 120 individuals in Scottsdale – a number the city expects to duplicate in 2023.

As noted in the grant application, at least 7 of the 10 rooms will be offered to seniors and families with children who have been displaced from their homes in Scottsdale. The other 3 rooms will host senior women, single mothers and their child(ren) or families referred to Scottsdale from the City of Phoenix ‘Zone’ area. Under the terms of the grant, these rooms could also offer emergency shelter for migrants who have entered the United States legally under Title 42, been vetted by U.S. Immigration and are awaiting transportation to other parts of the country. However, over the past year, the rooms were completely filled by those experiencing homelessness locally. There have been zero public safety calls associated with individuals in this bridge housing program.

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