This article was updated to reflect clarification on the city’s notification to neighborhood associations and the opening date.
The City of Tucson is taking heat from midtown residents who do not want the first city-sanctioned homeless camp in their neighborhood, at the same time homeless service providers say there is an urgent need for immediate shelter for the most vulnerable people on the streets.
Residents brought signs and frequently cheered, booed, and yelled at a heated public meeting in Ward 3 Wednesday night at the Donna Liggins Recreation Center.
The meeting took place just down the road from where fencing now surrounds the vacant lot near the intersection of Grant Road and Stone Avenue that will become STAR Village, a safe sleeping site for 25 women and nonbinary individuals facing chronic homelessness. The city announced the plans at a news conference August 22.
At a total cost of about $450,000, the city will provide tents, cots, linens, and food for residents of the camp, as well as security, bathrooms and showers, and outreach services provided by Primavera Foundation and Old Pueblo Community Services, said Assistant City Manager Liz Morales.
City officials emphasized the camp is a one-year pilot program that can be adjusted. It’s expected to open on Oct. 15.
“It’s flexible, and we will evaluate it carefully,” said Morales.
No matter how they felt about the actual camp, residents felt they were inadequately informed the camp was happening, and demanded answers as to why their neighborhood was chosen.
“We never got talked to, who did you talk to?” one attendee shouted.
Morales said the neighborhood was notified, even though the city doesn’t have to because no construction is being done at the site.
“We are not doing any development on the property that would require resident notification, however, we went into this with the intent of notifying not just the immediate neighborhood but the whole neighborhood, which is why we’re all here tonight,” Morales said.
Ward 3 Councilmember Kevin Dahl first sent an email notification to neighborhood association leaders on Aug. 6, and then included an article about the program in his Aug. 15 newsletter.
After the Aug. 22 press conference that announced plans to the public, Morales said the city canvassed door to door and made emails and phone calls.
Despite some feeling out of the loop, the program is in its final stages of planning.
“The model is determined, we are moving forward and we want to continue to hear from the neighborhood,” Morales said.
Other concerns included crime, and being inhumane to the people living there. Jessica Allen said she’s concerned about introducing vulnerable individuals to a high crime area.
“We already have a lot of criminal activity, a lot of drug activity. This is going to be within a few blocks of that local drug dealer,” she said. “I think the city needs to reconsider their decision. It's probably one of the worst decisions they've ever made.”
Primavera CEO Tisha Tallman said encampments reduce crime, and people incorrectly correlate criminal activity with the unhoused.
“Predators follow vulnerable individuals. When you put individuals into a safe space and provide security and services and opportunities and options, you put a barrier between the predator and the unhoused community,” Tallman said.
Still others called the camp undignified. “Give us solutions, not tents,” another sign read.
CEO of Old Pueblo Community Services Tom Litwicki said the site is not ideal, but necessary, as the city faces a shortage of immediate shelter.
“We would rather have some place with air conditioning and heat and all the amenities. This is what we do out of necessity in this community. But we hope this isn't the future and the long term solution,” he said.
Litwicki explained OPCS’s Homeless Work program pays people cash to clean up trash in neighborhoods, and will be an option to STAR village residents.
“We never have a problem filling our work crews. People are thrilled to be able to have some dignity, make their own money and be successful,” Litwicki said.
Activist April Putney carried a sign that read “We Support STAR.”
She called the site “one puzzle piece in a much larger puzzle,” of getting people off the streets.
“This one's actually beneficial to our unhoused neighbors, and so I wanted to come out to support it, because of all the good it could potentially do to people who are currently in very unsafe situations,” she said.
STAR village will not have walk-up shelter services, and residents will be pre-screened for certain criteria, like being able to complete daily living activities independently, Tallman said. There are no visitors except for program-related support, and strict rules prohibiting drugs, alcohol, and disruptive behavior.
Tallman said the site is a temporary stop in the process of getting people into permanent housing.
“They're going to be linked to supportive housing, treatment programs, detox facilities if needed, and the goal is to end with stable housing and not to return to the streets,” she said.
Another question asked how the city will deal with the potential claims arising from Proposition 312, a ballot measure passed last year that allows residents to be reimbursed for property taxes if they believe the city is not doing an adequate job in addressing homelessness.
“The city has a high bar to meet in order to avoid a successful nuisance claim, we intend to try to meet that bar,” said Assistant City Attorney Chris Avery.
The meeting ended after an hour and a half, and some residents began a chant of “Stop STAR Village” as they filed out.
