Traditional homeless shelters offer one-night stays to unhoused people, forcing them to leave by sun-up and return the next evening—if a bed is available. The Copper Courier, a Courier Newsroom publication, reports that a new housing solution in Phoenix is taking a different approach to operating a shelter for those experiencing homelessness.
Unhoused residents at the new shelter on 28th and Washington are welcome to stay as long as they need (or want) to. And, they are not forced to leave the shelter during the day. When guests wake up in the morning, they can go to the cafeteria for breakfast or sit on sofas in a day room with a TV. In the evening, they can return to their own cot, where they have access to a personal lockbox to secure their belongings.
Unlike most shelters for the unhoused, the new Phoenix shelter is pet-friendly, lowering barriers to entry for the many homeless with pets. Security guards monitor the interior and exterior of the building.
The shelter filled its 200 beds just five weeks after opening. Guests must be 18 years or older and are referred to the shelter by outreach teams.
The Heat is On
The shelter, which opened in May 2022, was billed as a “heat-relief” solution and has received funding through October. However, the city plans to operate the shelter year-round through 2024, according to The Copper Courier, a media outlet owned by Courier Newsroom and published by Tara McGowan.
Extreme heat in Phoenix causes hundreds of deaths every year, and the majority of those who perish are unhoused residents. With temperatures reaching record highs, the city has taken action to prevent a crisis.
Advocates for the unhoused have been waiting for progressive shelters like this one to help homeless residents forge a stable path to a “positive housing exit” (an outcome in which a homeless resident finds a permanent housing solution outside the shelter). The heat provided the context they needed to make it happen.
“The weather has an impact on what we’re able to provide and when we’re able to provide it,” said Jennifer Morgan, the shelter’s director. “The need for a program like this one has existed, but the urgency was created by the heat.”
Advocates like Morgan will take what they can get and hope that the success of the shelter justifies continued funding.
Long-Term Outcomes over Short-Term Stays
A problem with traditional shelters is that unhoused guests are not able to connect and follow up with available support structures. The new shelter in Phoenix is resolving these problems with long-term stays.
Guests are assigned case managers who meet with them on a weekly basis to work towards a positive housing exit. This may involve moving to a housing facility, a personal apartment, or a family member’s home. Guests are also able to receive medical and mental health care treatment during their stay.
This consistency of care and long-term housing security increases the likelihood of guests achieving a positive housing exit that sticks. This dedication to long-term outcomes over short-term fixes (such as providing a one-night stay on a particularly hot or cold day) is what experts believe will curb America’s worsening homelessness crisis.
“What we’re really focused on is outcomes, and that means that we want people to complete the shelter program with a positive housing exit,” Morgan said.
Just two months after opening, the shelter had achieved 10 positive housing exits, a sign that this shelter is a step in the right direction to housing Phoenix’s 3000+ homeless.
This story was originally reported in The Copper Courier, a publication owned by Courier Newsroom.