TUCSON, Ariz. — The City of Tucson is facing a lawsuit over its approach to addressing homelessness.
Residents suing the city don’t believe it’s doing enough to get services to the people who need them, arguing in part, that too many people are allowed to stay on the streets – even as some shelters have beds available.
At last count, more than two-thirds of people experiencing homelessness in Pima County were unsheltered, rather than in shelter beds according to the county’s 2023 point-in-time survey.
1,500 People 'unsheltered' in Tucson, hundreds of shelter beds empty
The annual Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness “point-in-time” survey found that 2,209 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January.
That showed a decrease since the same point-in-time survey in 2022 but an increase in homelessness of nearly 60% since 2018.
Moreover, the report found 1,501 people experiencing homelessness were unsheltered, an increase of 300% since 2018.
At the same time, the report showed that more than 1,000 shelter beds were available across the county.
The problem, as shelter providers told the I-Team, is that not every person qualifies for every bed.
Different shelters offer different services and space is often determined by specific criteria that may not match the people who need it.
‘They shouldn’t be on the street’
The Sister José Women's Center offers overnight and day services for women and their pets without any “requirements, referrals or fees.”
“Someone shows up at our door, we don't ask for ID,” said Nicola Hartmann, the CEO of Sister José. “So you need a bed and you identify as female, you're welcome – if we have the bed.”
The 42 emergency shelter beds they provide are perpetually full.
“It is the hardest job I've ever had, the need is so great,” Hartmann said. “Our numbers are just exploding – we’ve run out of food.”
The shelter provides laundry services, meals, caseworkers and clothes – and they are working to expand. So far this year, they’ve seen a nearly 70% increase in overnight visits.
“We’re an emergency shelter, but a lot of times our guests stay with us for months, because there's nowhere for them to go,” Hartmann said. “And some of these women, they shouldn't be on the street.”
Unoccupied shelter beds
Despite the demand at Sister José Women’s Center, the point-in-time count found that 333 emergency shelter beds were unoccupied across Pima County when the survey took place.
It also found 154 transitional housing beds, 577 permanent supportive housing beds and three Safe Haven beds were all unoccupied in the count.
“We're allowing people to live on the streets,” said Lisa Chastain, CEO of Gospel Rescue Mission, who is critical of the City of Tucson’s response to homelessness.
“We're not enforcing laws, and we're doing it under the guise of compassion," she shared. "Well, I think that’s the least compassionate thing we can do as a society is to allow people to live on the streets."
The Gospel Rescue Mission is a privately-funded nonprofit and one of the few shelters that allows in men, women and children – a lifesaver for people like Pua Shirshac, who came to the shelter with his 1-year-old son.
“It was the worst feeling I've ever felt. Not being able to have a roof over my son's head,” Shirshac said.
Unlike Sister José, this shelter has stricter requirements, including sobriety.
“It needs to be safe, and we are a sober campus,” Chastain said.
Clients also must be involved in a program, like faith-based recovery or job training, in order to stay and get connected with housing. The mission offers a variety of amenities, including a gym and pool tables, alongside medical and dental services on-site.
“When I got here I was at the lowest point of my life,” Shirshac said. “My drug use made me make choices that I wouldn't have made otherwise.”
Shirshac has since completed a year-long recovery program and now works for the shelter to help others like himself.
Still, the mission has space available.
The point-in-time survey did not include the number of beds at the Gospel Rescue Mission since it does not participate in the Homeless Management Information System, but Chastain told the I-Team they had 50 beds available during our tour.
“We have a maximum of 350 shelter beds here,” Chastain said. “We would love to see all of those beds full.”
Resources don’t match demand
When the I-team visited the Sister José Women’s Center, Kristen was eager to share her story, despite all her hardship.
Kristen said she has struggled with homelessness repeatedly over the last eight years after an accident cost her her job as a dental assistant.
"I lost range of motion in my arms and my wrists," she shared. "So I'm more of a liability than an asset, which is depressing."
She's been working to connect with benefits and housing, and has stayed at the Sister José shelter multiple times while she tries to find help.
She said the lack of long-term solutions has left her feeling stuck.
“All I can do is just hope and remain with thinking that Tucson has gotten enough resources for us to have and use that we're all going to make it through,” Kristen said.
But providers like Hartmann and Chastain believe local government, including the city and county, need to do more to ensure that the people who need help are getting it.
“We spend a lot of money to address this problem, but it's not enough money,” Hartmann said. “We need more housing, we need more places for people to go.”
Needs are unique and cases are complicated.
“80% of the people that we see walk through our doors are homeless because of addiction, or mental health, and most of the time both,” Chastain said.
But those are issues that shelter providers can’t solve alone. Still, residents living in Tucson want to see homeless encampments cleaned up and a larger response from the city.
“Nobody wants to see the homeless on the streets. It's not compassionate,” said Adrian Wurr, one of the residents suing the city of Tucson.
A city spokesperson declined to comment on the pending litigation and did not agree to an interview about the city’s response to homelessness.
Both the Sister José Women’s Center and Gospel Rescue Mission aim to expand services to try and meet the demand. Sister José is in the process of adding 15 new emergency shelter beds, while the Gospel Rescue Mission is working to create more transitional and permanent housing.
Both shelters are helping people, but neither can help everyone who needs it.
The Zone
12News offers the latest updates on one of the largest homeless encampments in Maricopa County.