On Wednesday, Aug. 21, the City Council will consider a contract to extend the city's bridge housing program which provides temporary lodging for Scottsdale residents who are seniors or families with minor children who meet specific program criteria.
Item 6 on the Aug. 21 Scottsdale City Council agenda requests approval of a $190,000 contract with a local hotel for five rooms to be used through May 2025.
The money comes from an Arizona Department of Housing grant which was previously accepted by the City Council in June 2023. This extension would be funded with savings from that grant – no city dollars would be used./p>
The location of the hotel remains the same as with previous program contracts, this extension would fund five rooms, down from the ten rooms currently funded.
Scottsdale's program is designed to prevent homelessness
The program provides temporary lodging (30 to 120 days) for seniors over age 62 and families with minor children who have been displaced from their Scottsdale homes. In addition to those requirements, participants must also provide proof of legal U.S. residency and proof of a residential address in Scottsdale within the previous six months.
The Scottsdale program does not take U.S. immigration referrals through Title 42 or other sources.
Persons who are considered chronically homeless (someone who has been homeless for more than a year), or repeatedly in and out of homelessness, with disabling conditions such as serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability are not eligible and do not receive assistance through this program.
Each potential participant is evaluated to ensure their individual needs and circumstances are a match for the program. Once enrolled, program participants are required to work with a caseworker to become self-sufficient and secure stable housing. They are provided with assistance navigating through programs and services, searching for employment, applying for housing vouchers and searching and applying for affordable rental units or other housing options.
Is the program successful?
Since its inception in October 2022 through July 2024, Scottsdale Human Services assisted 168 individuals through this program, with an 86% success rate: people who received housing and services then exited into a secure living situation.
Staff have received numerous notes of thanks from people who received assistance through the bridge housing program. Last year, a disabled woman and her husband (ages 71 and 80) described facing homelessness when a steep rent increase meant they could no longer afford their apartment in Scottsdale. They requested assistance through the bridge housing program, which provided a place to stay and access to services that helped them find an affordable new place to live.
“We are grateful to the city for keeping my husband and myself safe for the several weeks we needed shelter,” they wrote.
Understanding the issue and the city’s efforts
Scottsdale's Human Services staff routinely assist city residents who are being displaced from their homes due to rising rents and a decreasing number of affordable rents and mortgages.
The bridge housing program is one tool available to help – it is a "life raft" for people in difficult situations who may fall into homelessness without it. While successful since its inception, the program is only meant to assist a small number of people with specific circumstances.
On a larger scale, the city’s Housing Choice Voucher Program assists eligible families by subsidizing a portion of their rent, but there is far more need than housing units available. Scottsdale’s program currently has 52 seniors and 284 disabled families on the on the program waitlist. Scottsdale also operates three senior affordable housing properties with nearly 200 people on the waitlist.
Scottsdale assisted 60 seniors with rent and eviction prevention in the last 12 months and provided 7 seniors with tenant based rental assistance vouchers with 5 more in the application process. Additionally, 14 veterans, referred by the VA, were provided with supportive housing vouchers. Presently, 330 unhoused people are on a waitlist for affordable housing in Scottsdale.
The city appreciates the community's concerns with homelessness and panhandling
According to the 2024 Point-in-Time Count conducted by the Maricopa Association of Governments, there are 89 unsheltered individuals living in Scottsdale among the more than 4,000 unsheltered people across Maricopa County.
To reduce panhandling activity in public rights of way, which is often dangerous to individuals and motorists, the city employs “no panhandling” signs that encourage people to donate to social service agencies rather than hand money to people on the streets. Since its launch in 2018, this program has been emulated by many cities across the Valley.
The City Council will also consider amending its public camping ordinance (Ord. 4644) in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upholds a community’s ability to enforce overnight camping restrictions in its parks, streets and public places.
The proposed amendment will remove the ordinance requirement that shelter space must be available prior to enforcement. Under the revised ordinance, an individual violating the ordinance will be given a reasonable opportunity to relocate prior to the issuance of a citation or an arrest.
Implementing the city’s General Plan
These efforts and the full range of the city’s Human Services programs are evidence of how the voter-approved Scottsdale General Plan is implemented. A goal in the Community Well-Being chapter of the general plan directs the city to "provide a variety of housing options that meet the socioeconomic needs of people who live and work in Scottsdale." Specific policy direction in support of that goal advises the city to "leverage State and Federal funding opportunities to create and preserve high quality, safe, energy-efficient, and affordable housing" (H 2.5), and “seek to provide quality short-term housing options that accommodate those in need of immediate temporary shelter” (H 2.10). Learn more about the Scottsdale General Plan here.
