City of Tucson Calls for Participation in Focus Groups on Unsheltered and Sheltered Homelessness

City of Tucson Seeks Community Input on People, Communities, and Homes Investment Plan

Join the City of Tucson and TPCH for an interactive discussion of the City of Tucson’s priorities as they relate to providing and funding services for persons experiencing homelessness. In this special input session, TPCH member agencies and others working to prevent and end homelessness will have an opportunity to provide direct input into the City of Tucson’s next People, Communities, and Homes Investment Plan (P-CHIP) which guides the Housing and Community Development Department’s (HCD) non-profit grantmaking activities.

During the session, attendees will be asked to respond to three priority questions:

What are the greatest challenges related to homelessness being experienced in our community today?
What strategies or priorities should the City use and fund to create the biggest impact toward ending homelessness?
What best practices are working locally or elsewhere that should be considered within the City of Tucson?

Your input will directly inform the P-CHIP strategic plan and HCD’s funding priorities for the next five years.

In-Person Event Details

June 13, 2024 (9:30am-11am)

320 N Commerce Park Loop – Sentinel Building

Tucson, AZ 85745

No registration necessary, please join us in person for this important discussion!

Download the flier her: Focus Group_Homelessness_6.13.2024

TPCH 2024 Continuum of Care Board and Committee Election

TPCH CONTINUUM OF CARE BOARD AND COMMITTEE ELECTION

ALL VOTES ARE DUE BY 11:59PM TODAY Thursday, May 23rd

ELECTION MATERIALS

This package includes:

Overview of the election process and voting instructions
Roster of current members of TPCH General Council with voting privileges as of May 9, 2024
Roster of seated CoC Board Members
Roster of CoC Board and Committee candidates
Listing of CoC Board and Committee candidates with disclosed areas of expertise as defined by the TPCH Committee Composition Operating Policy and key diversity goals
Candidate statements of interest and affiliations
Overview of CoC Committee purpose and summarized responsibilities
Quick Reference tool identifying candidates by organization and bodies to which each candidate has applied

TPCH Election Materials_Final

VOTING INSTRUCTIONS

Only one ballot may be cast for each TPCH voting organizational member identified in the membership roster. Multiple votes from the same organization will not be accepted.

Ballots may not include votes for more candidates than are eligible for election on any voting body. The ballot indicates the total number of votes that can be cast for each voting body.

No individual may serve on more than two (2) elected bodies of the Continuum of Care (CoC Board + 1 Committee, or 2 Committees).

No agency may have more than two (2) representatives seated on any elected body. If an agency has two (2) elected representatives on a single elected body, each representative will have one vote on all actions taken by the elected body.

All ballots must be cast online no later than 11:59pm tonight Thursday, May 23rd.

Late ballots will not be accepted. Vote here starting Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 2pm.

U of A Southwest Institute for Research on Women releases census updates to Housing Insecurity and Potential Homelessness Report

The University of Arizona Southwest Institute for Research on Women has released its most recent update to its report on Housing Insecurity Indicators and Potential Homelessness Estimates for Arizona and Pima County. This report measures current housing insecurity with newer census data.

Download the report here.

This most recent survey wave contains multiple positive developments:

The positive macroeconomic situation has continued to hold steadily at both the national and state levels.
The unemployment rate in Arizona, 3.8% in March 2024, is a modest decrease relative to 4.1% in February and remains below historical averages.
In the previous survey wave, collected February 6th-March 4th 2024, the proportion of non-current renters in Arizona was 6.3%. In the most recent survey, conducted March 5th-April 1st 2024, this proportion rose very slightly to 6.7%.
The proportion of these non-current renters viewing eviction in the next two months as “very likely” remained very low at 8.5% (9.9% last survey wave).

Throughout all of 2023 housing insecurity among Arizona renters remained stubbornly high despite historically low unemployment.

These last two survey waves contain the first clear signals that the breadth of housing insecurity in Arizona is easing substantially. That said, lower-income and BIPOC Arizona households remain disproportionately likely to report being not current on their rent payments and finding it very difficult to meet usual expenses.
The National Equity Atlas estimated that 79% of non-current renters in Arizona are POC and 75% are low-income (based on the Census HPS data wave collected Jan 9th-Feb 5th 2024).
Mortgage holders in Arizona continue to be in a strong financial position relative to renters.
- Only 4.2% reported being not current on mortgage payments (down slightly from 5.3% last wave).
- Although among this small share of non-current mortgage holders concern about the likelihood of foreclosure in the next two months increased this wave to 16% from only 1% last wave.
Among non-current Arizona renters, the depth of rental debt has decreased.
- This most recent survey indicates that, among Arizona renters who are behind on their rent, 66%, are only behind on their payments 1 month or less.
- And 71% of non-current Arizona renters were only 2 months behind on rent or less.
- In the fall of 2022 Tucson rent prices began decreasing on average, albeit very modestly.
- In the Spring of 2023 rent prices in Tucson registered modest upticks in median/average rent prices. Despite these increases, seasonally adjusted metrics of Tucson rent prices increased only 3.5% between April 2023 and April 2024.
- This is a substantial slowdown in the rate of rental price increases we have seen in recent years.
In addition, there is unambiguous good news in the rental vacancy rate, which has been trending upwards since the end of 2021, and hit an 8-year high in the 1st quarter of 2024. However, countervailing signals worth attention include:
- only 51% of all Arizona respondents reported they had not experienced pressure to move in the last 6 months, down from 62% of respondents reporting no pressure last wave.
- 67% of Arizona renters reported an increase in their monthly rent in the last year (up from 57% last survey wave) and 50% reported an increase of $100 or more (up from 43% last wave).

The most significant development in this report is that eviction filings have fallen substantially since January and suggest a substantial easing of housing insecurity among Pima County renters.

Relative to a peak of 1307 eviction filings in January of 2024, the count of eviction filings fell 41% to 771 in April. We have not seen the monthly count of eviction filings this low since November of 2021.

Other metrics suggest continuing reason for concern:

12% of Arizona households reported reducing or not paying expenses for basic household necessities (such as medicine or food) “almost every month” in the last 12 months to pay an energy bill (66% of households reported “never” being in this situation).
Credit card debt balances nationwide and in Arizona have increased 33% between Q4 2022-Q4 2023.
And since November of 2023, counts of calls to 211 from Pima County indicate a very substantial increase in calls related to housing and shelter and utilities in recent months.

Download the report here.

TPCH 2024 Continuum of Care Board and Committee Election

TPCH CONTINUUM OF CARE BOARD AND COMMITTEE ELECTION

ALL VOTES DUE BY 11:59PM ON Thursday, May 23rd

Please attend the General Council on May 9th when the voting materials for this year's election will be reviewed. Members of the TPCH General Council with voting privileges are eligible to vote on all vacant Board and Committee seats.

ELECTION MATERIALS

Stay tuned, as these election materials will be posted soon. This package will include:

Overview of the election process and voting instructions
Roster of current members of TPCH General Council with voting privileges as of May 9, 2024
Roster of seated CoC Board Members
Roster of CoC Board and Committee candidates
Listing of CoC Board and Committee candidates with disclosed areas of expertise as defined by the TPCH Committee Composition Operating Policy and key diversity goals
Candidate statements of interest and affiliations
Overview of CoC Committee purpose and summarized responsibilities
Quick Reference tool identifying candidates by organization and bodies to which each candidate has applied

TPCH Election Materials_Final

VOTING INSTRUCTIONS

Voting will occur online, starting May 9, 2024. Stay tuned Thursday, May 9th for the posting of the ballot.

Only one ballot may be cast for each TPCH voting organizational member identified in the membership roster. Multiple votes from the same organization will not be accepted.

Ballots may not include votes for more candidates than are eligible for election on any voting body. The ballot indicates the total number of votes that can be cast for each voting body.

No individual may serve on more than two (2) elected bodies of the Continuum of Care (CoC Board + 1 Committee, or 2 Committees).

All ballots must be cast online no later than 11:59pm on Thursday, May 23rd.

Late ballots will not be accepted. Vote here starting Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 2pm.

TPCH has spent all available Prevention and Rapid Resolution Funds

Thank you to all case managers that helped apply for and distribute the TPCH Prevention and Rapid Resolution Funds through the community!

We spent all of our original $400,000 back in June, and have now spent the additional $200,000 that was dedicated to the program. With this, we do not have any more funding to continue this program. Case managers are encouraged to continue working with clients to determine alternative sources of funding and assistance.

Thank you once again for your assistance with getting these funds to the community.

TPCH General Council Meets May 9, 2024

Join us for the quarterly General Council meeting of the TPCH membership. This meeting will be held in person at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, located at 5049 E Broadway.

For a list of members eligible to vote in this meeting, see the TPCH Voting Member Roster linked below.

Please note that the meeting will be 12:30pm - 2:30pm, followed by additional training opportunities 2:45pm - 4:15pm.

Summary Meeting Agenda

Roll Call and Consent Agenda

Jocelyn Muzzin, Continuum of Care Board Chairperson

Community Celebrations

Jocelyn Muzzin, Continuum of Care Board Chairperson

CoC Lead Updates

Elaine MacPherson, Continuum of Care Lead Agency (City of Tucson)

Board Updates

Jocelyn Muzzin, Continuum of Care Board Chairperson

Housing Central Command Updates

Housing Central Command Leadership

Continuum of Care Annual Election Ballot

Jesus Federico, Continuum of Care Project Coordinator

Committee and Coalition Updates

Committee and Coalition Representatives

New Business/Announcements

Group Discussion

Sessions Offered:

Shelter Providers Discussion: System Enhancements and Voucher Move On

Mari Vasquez, Interagency Resource Coordinator, City of Tucson

Elaine MacPherson, Homeless System Improvement Supervisor, City of Tucson

Diversion and Rapid Resolution Funds through the Garcia Family Foundation

Kyle Kerns, Continuum of Care Project Coordinator, City of Tucson

LGBTQIA+ Equity

Shannon Fowler, Assistant Research Social Scientist, University of Arizona Southwest Institute for Research on Women (UA SIROW)

Download the Meeting Materials:

5.9.2024_TPCH General Council Meeting Agenda

TPCH Voting Member Roster_5.9.2024

GENERAL COUNCIL_MIN_02.15.2024_Draft

TPCH Continuum of Care Board announces call for Board and Committee Applications – Applications due April 24, 2024

TPCH Continuum of Care Board announces call for Board and Committee Applications
Applications due date extended to Wednesday, April 24, 2024 by 11:59pm

Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness (TPCH) is looking for applicants for the TPCH Board and the TPCH Committees. Committee members can serve on up to two committees at a time. Elections are held every year to ensure new perspectives and ideas are consistently available and opportunities are given to interested candidates. In the event of a contested seat, the highest vote-getter will be elected. In the event of a tie vote, TPCH shall select from the tie-getting candidates with a particular focus on promoting diversity in terms of expertise, experience, race, ethnicity, cultural affiliation, gender, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and other relevant factors.

The CoC Board especially encourages applications from persons with lived experience of homelessness, LGBTQ+ persons, and Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Interested persons should complete the online application form using the links provided below.

COC BOARD VACANCIES
6 seats available for persons with or without lived experience of homelessness. Applications are encouraged from those who come with the following perspectives and expertise:

VA or VA-funded projects
Behavioral Health Services
County or County-funded projects
State or State-funded projects
Faith Leader
Immigration Advocacy/Services
Evaluation/Data Analysis

Click here to apply for a CoC Board seat.

COMMITTEE VACANCIES

Committee seats reserved for persons with lived experience of homelessness may be filled by persons with any form of lived experience as self-identified by the applicant which may include, but is not limited to, unaccompanied youth homelessness, doubled up experiences, prior eviction, and/or participation in homeless or public housing/Section 8 programs at any point in the applicant’s lifetime.

Committee seats not reserved for persons with lived experience of homelessness may be filled by any qualified community member including persons with or without lived experience of homelessness.

Click here to apply for one or more of the TPCH Committees.

HMIS Committee: 3 seats available (may be filled by persons with or without lived experience of homelessness). Ideal candidates have experience with the Homeless Management Information System, data analysis, and/or data governance.

Coordinated Entry Committee: 3 seats available, 1 of which is reserved for a person with lived experience of homelessness. Ideal candidates have experience with Behavioral Health Authority, veteran services, and/or rural services.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee: 5 seats available (may be filled by persons with or without lived experience of homelessness). Ideal candidates have a demonstrated commitment to racial equity, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and citizenship/immigration issues, as well as experience with VA or VA-funded projects, County or County-funded projects, State or State-funded projects, and/or faith leaders.

Continuum of Care Program Grant Committee: 4 seats available, 1 of which is reserved for persons with lived experience of homelessness. Not more than 2 seats will be filled by persons representing organizations that receive CoC Program funding. Ideal candidates have experience with Safe Haven programs, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, veteran services, chronic homeless services, and/or human trafficking services.

System Performance Evaluation Committee: 4 seats available (may be filled by persons with or without lived experience of homelessness). Ideal candidates have experience working with shelters, rapid rehousing, VA or VA-funded projects, Health and Human Services Runaway & Homeless Youth funded projects, privately funded services, and chronic homeless services.

Click here to review the TPCH Code of Conduct.

Click here to review the TPCH Conflict of Interest Policy.

City of Tucson Announces Request for Qualifications: Continuum of Care (CoC) Funded Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)

City of Tucson and Pima Housing and Community Development Department Announces Request for Qualifications From Organizations Interested in Administering Continuum of Care Funded Permanent Supportive Housing Projects

Dear Community Partner,

The City of Tucson Housing and Community Development Department is pleased to announce this Request for Qualifications from organizations interested in administering Continuum of Care Program funded permanent supportive housing (PSH) projects for young adults and medically vulnerable persons experiencing chronic homelessness and/or meeting Dedicated Plus homeless eligibility standards. Funding is available to administer the Transitions PSH project for youth and the Medical Respite PSH project for medically vulnerable adults. Please see the below link for instructions:

COT Request for Qualifications - CoC PSH Projects 2024

The full Request for Qualifications is attached. Letters of interest are due on or before 11:59pm Arizona time on April 30, 2024. Please send questions related to this opportunity to hcdgrants@tucsonaz.gov. Thank you!

TPCH General Council Updates, Attendance, and Voting Privileges Community Notice

TPCH Membership Met on Thursday, February 15, 2024

TPCH Membership Met on Thursday, February 15, 2024 from 12:30-2:30 PM

General Meeting Updates

TPCH General Council had quorum for this meeting and discussed many committee and coalition updates, including system changes for Coordinated Entry and an update on the Housing Central Command Initiative, launched with the implementation of five projects funded by the Supplemental Notice of Funding Opportunity to Address Unsheltered Homelessness (Special NOFO).

One breakout session also brainstormed new community strategies for effective discharge planning from institutions for people experiencing homelessness. This workgroup is ongoing, and those interested in participating are encouraged to reach out to tpch@tucsonaz.gov. Representatives of the justice services, healthcare, and child welfare systems are especially encouraged to participate.

Update to the TPCH Governance Charter

Feedback garnered from TPCH committee and board leadership has led to robust conversations about the need for our Continuum of Care to respond quickly to challenges. The Housing Central Command initiative has shown the power of making decisions in real-time based on evidence-based approaches. To ensure that committees can react to system challenges in a nimble and collaborative manner, the following motion was approved by the General Council:

Motion: to add the following language to the TPCH Governance Charter clarifying the purpose of TPCH Committees:

“While each committee is operating within its domain, they are able to make decisions on behalf of the CoC with the following exceptions:
a) decisions that would also impact another committee's domain, and
b) decisions with financial implications.”

View the updated Governance Charter here.

Attendance and Voting Status Updates

Section 2.04 of the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness Governance Charter requires that the CoC Lead Agency/Collaborative Applicant publish a list of members gaining voting privileges, at risk of losing voting privileges, and having lost voting privileges within one month following each General Council meeting. The last TPCH General Council meeting was held on Thursday, November 9, 2023 from 12:30-2:30 PM.

Per the TPCH Governance Charter, voting privileges are assigned to TPCH members in attendance at two of the three immediately preceding General Council meetings. For a list of members now eligible to vote as a result of attending this meeting, see the TPCH Voting Member Roster.

If you believe your voting privileges are not accurately reported here, please email tpch@tucsonaz.gov.

City of Tucson and Pima County Invite Community Members to Public Meeting Regarding Proposed Use of FY 2025 HUD Program Funds

City of Tucson and Pima County Invite TPCH Members to Public Meeting Regarding Proposed Use of FY 2025 HUD Program Funds

View the public notice in English

Ver el aviso público en español

Notice of Public Hearing

City of Tucson-Pima County Consortium Federal Fiscal Year 2025 HUD Annual Action Plan

The City of Tucson and Pima County receive federal funds to support housing and community development activities through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD requires that the consortium to develop an Annual Action Plan which outlines the needs, priorities and strategies for housing, supportive services, and community development programs to be undertaken with HUD program funds. The Annual Action Plan additionally serves as the local government’s application for annual entitlement funding through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) programs. The City of Tucson and Pima County will host two public hearings regarding the FY 2025 Annual Action Plan on March 14, 2024:

Public Hearing (English Language): March 14, 1:00pm (Virtual – Zoom)
Public Hearing (Spanish Language): March 14, 5:30pm (Virtual – Zoom)

For accommodations; materials in accessible formats; foreign language interpreters; and/or materials in a language other than English, please contact the City of Tucson Housing and Community Development Department, Susan Spiess, (520) 837-5311 or call (520) 791-2639 for TDD at least 5 business days in advance.