More Help For The Homeless Coming To Tempe

TEMPE, AZ — The city of Tempe is expanding its homeless outreach team, adding more members, and will be available seven days per week, starting in January.

Tempe's HOPE, or Homeless Outreach Prevention Effort, team will grow from nine members to 11 in the new year, according to a news release from the city.

The city has also hired a new homeless solutions manager who has 15 years of nonprofit experience assisting those experiencing homelessness and people who have disabilities.

“Tempe was one of the first cities in the Valley to hire a homeless outreach specialist in 2016 and we’ve been investing steadily to expand the team as needs grow in our community,” Mayor Corey Woods said in the news release. “This new strategy will maximize our coverage and help us assist more unsheltered individuals and families, while also providing a consistent presence in neighborhoods, city parks, business areas and other parts of the city.”

A two-person outreach team is set to be dedicated to the Arizona State University area, through a partnership with the university, for which ASU has committed $135,000 to fund the two positions in the next fiscal year. Tempe is in the process of hiring the two new specialists.

“Arizona State University takes fundamental responsibility for the communities we serve and the challenge of homelessness is one that is shared throughout the region and which all public institutions must come together to address,” ASU President Michael Crow said in the news release. “We believe the HOPE program provides constructive, engaged and meaningful support to our homeless neighbors and we want to be supportive in expanding it.”

Tempe’s HOPE team is made up of certified behavioral health technicians who have a background in helping people and families experiencing homelessness. Some team members have been personally impacted by homelessness, according to the news release.

The team members work daily with those experiencing homelessness to connect them to emergency shelters, housing and services like mobile medical care and help finding a job.

Team members also work to rapidly rehouse those at risk of being homeless.

One significant change with the city's new strategy will be assigning team members to set areas of the city by the end of December to ensure consistent coverage.