Arizona

Where is all that money going to fight homelessness in Arizona? No one knows

Published

2 years ago

April 15, 2024

Press Room

Where is all that money going to fight homelessness in Arizona? No one knows

Opinion: Arizona spends roughly $1 billion each year on the homeless problem without success because we refuse to deal with the crisis at hand.

Devon Kurtz and Stefani Buhajla
| opinion contributors

A recent report has exposed shocking statistics about the state of homelessness in the Grand Canyon state.

While the state spends an estimated $1 billion of taxpayer money every year on homelessness alleviation, the number of Arizonans without shelter continues to grow at a substantial rate.

A report by Common Sense Institute Arizona serves as a startling reality check on the massive failure of programs that have deprioritized emergency and transitional services — leaving more and more people in crisis to the dangers of life on the streets.

Homelessness is still skyrocketing

Over the last three years, the number of homeless individuals in Arizona has increased by nearly a third — and it is suspected that the increase may be significantly higher.

Even more worrying, the number of unsheltered homeless, the most vulnerable among them, more than tripled between 2014 and 2023.

Common Sense Institute identified at least 167 public and private homeless service providers employing roughly 9,000 workers and 42,000 volunteers. They reported that’s about the size of the state’s mining and logging sector in terms of work hours.

These organizations are spending more than $47,200 per homeless person each year. That figure is double the median annual rent, and it’s more than half the state’s annual GDP in farming.

Yet, alarmingly, conservative estimates now put the total number of homeless individuals in Arizona at 14,000. A record 7,600 of them went without shelter in 2023.

Rep. Gress has suggested an important fix

So, where is all that money going, exactly?

No one knows for sure — and that is a major problem.

State Rep. Matt Gress, who called the report a “bombshell,” is trying to fix it and working across party lines to provide accountability and transparency when it comes to how taxpayer dollars are spent on homelessness initiatives.

Homelessness isn’t a partisan issue, and neither are the root causes.

One of the largest studies of homelessness in the U.S., of unsheltered people in California, found that more than eight in 10 individuals are struggling with mental health disorders, and two-thirds are using illegal drugs regularly.

Among Arizona’s unsheltered homeless, the number who suffer from chronic substance abuse has skyrocketed by a shocking 153% since 2013.

Research by the Cicero Institute underlines the alarming connections between mental health and homelessness.

Make homeless shelters drug-free zones

Throughout the 1980s, all 50 states created drug-free zones to put a stop to drug dealing and usage in areas where children learn and play. The result was what we now call “Drug-Free School Zones.”

The solution has had a positive impact on drug crimes in such areas, and no one would dream of eliminating the policy.

It makes sense to expand drug-free zones to include homeless shelters and housing units where struggling individuals, including children, can feel safe.

Homeless people need housing: Not jail time for drugs

Drugs exacerbate the challenges facing the homeless by exposing them to criminal predation, attracting criminal activity and chaos that further destabilizes their environment.

Multiple studies have found that crime and drugs concentrate in areas near homeless service areas, so it only makes sense to remove drugs from the equation.

The lives of homeless individuals depend on it.

Arizona should focus on treatment first

Gress’ efforts to offer meaningful change have gained a foothold. He has sponsored legislation called The Arizona Homeless Protection and Drug Control Act, and the conversations it’s generated have been encouraging.

The act would create commonsense drug-free zones, require service providers that accept government funding to be transparent about their spending, reprioritize emergency and transitional housing, and focus on treatment-first approaches to offer struggling Arizonans a second chance at a flourishing life.

Those who choose to deal drugs or knowingly allow drug trafficking in drug-free homeless service zones would face increased penalties for putting homeless individuals and those who serve them at grave risk.

Lending further support to the push, our recent polling shows a significant majority of Arizona’s voters support greater action against homelessness and drugs. That includes Democrats, Republicans and independents.

There is reason to be hopeful that real relief could be coming — and it might just arrive this year should lawmakers act.

Devon Kurtz is policy director of Cicero Institute, a research and public policy organization. Stefani Buhajla is the institute’s communications director. Reach them at devon@ciceroinstitute.org and stefani@ciceroinstitute.org.

Source link

Click to comment

Arizona

Fruit-flavored cocaine being sold to young people, Arizona official warns

Published

12 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Fruit-flavored cocaine being sold to young people, Arizona official warns

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona’s attorney general is sounding the alarm over a new illegal drug being marketed toward kids and young women.

The Attorney General’s Office says law enforcement agencies in Arizona are seeing an increase of fruit-flavored cocaine in the illegal drug market.

Attorney General Kris Mayes says dealers are marketing the flavored drug toward younger people and women, attempting to lure new users to using cocaine.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is issuing a warning of fruit-flavored cocaine being marketed to young people.(Arizona Attorney General’s Office)

Mayes said the drug is being sold in flavors like piña colada, strawberry, coconut and banana, which may appeal to children. She added that illegal drugs like cocaine often contain the deadly drug fentanyl.

“We want everyone to stay safe and avoid the harms that come from using illegal drugs,” Mayes said.

The warning from the AG’s office comes after a man was sentenced in Pima County last month for selling fruit-flavored cocaine.

A release from Mayes’ office says that on July 17, Jaden Alfredo Covarrubias sold about 1.55 pounds of cocaine to another person after advertising his access to coconut, strawberry and banana flavored forms. Mayes said Covarrubias offered to sell the drugs on social media platforms like WhatsApp.

Jaden Alfredo Covarrubias was setenced to 1.75 years in prison and ordered to pay fines after... — Jaden Alfredo Covarrubias was setenced to 1.75 years in prison and ordered to pay fines after selling fruit-flavored cocaine in Pima County.(Arizona Attorney General’s Office)

Covarrubias was sentenced on Nov. 24 to 1.75 years in prison. He was ordered to pay $4,500 to the State Anti-Racketeering Revolving Fund and $300 for investigative costs to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Source link

Arizona

Volunteer pilots bring Santa, gifts to Title I schools on Utah-Arizona border

Published

24 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Volunteer pilots bring Santa, gifts to Title I schools on Utah-Arizona border

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — Santa Claus traded his sleigh for small planes Wednesday as 20 volunteer pilots from Angel Flight West’s Utah wing flew hundreds of miles to deliver Christmas gifts and school supplies to two Title I schools on the Utah-Arizona border.

The annual “Santa Flight” brought toys, winter coats, backpacks and more than 500 books donated by PBS Utah to about 500 students from Water Canyon Elementary in Hildale, Utah, and Cottonwood Elementary in Colorado City, Arizona. The schools gathered at the Colorado City airport to greet Santa, Mrs. Claus, some elves and the pilots.

“Well, this is just excitement,” said Brad Jolley, principal at Water Canyon Elementary in Hildale. “I mean, you look at the faces of the kids, you see smiles, and just a great opportunity, great atmosphere.”

“This is the first time that our two schools in our valley have come together and done an activity,” said Natalie Hammon, principal at Cottonwood Elementary in Colorado City. “So Santa Flight has really helped us unite our valley and let our two schools work together for a great cause.”

The donations were made possible by community groups and sponsors, including the John C. Kish Foundation, Bank of Utah and the Leavitt Group. Lou Rossi, Utah Wing leader for Angel Flight West, said the effort reflects the generosity of pilots and donors during a tough economic time.

Angel Flight West is best known for providing free air transportation for patients traveling long distances for medical care. Volunteer pilot Steve Booth said the holiday mission is just one way to give back.

“For somebody that might need a four- or five-hour car ride after a cancer treatment, a 45 (-minute) or one-hour flight just makes a huge, huge difference in their life,” Booth said.

The Santa Flight tradition began in 2000 and rotates among rural schools each year.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

Source link

Arizona

Arizona State men’s basketball cruises past NAU for 8th win

Published

2 days ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

Arizona State men’s basketball cruises past NAU for 8th win

The Arizona State Sun Devils were looking to improve on the win they chalked up three days ago against Oklahoma. They did, sort of.

ASU added a 73-48 win over visiting Northern Arizona on Dec. 9 at Desert Financial Arena for its fifth win in the last six outings.

Defense has been the team’s focus in the last two weeks, and that showed as the Sun Devils (8-2) held their opponent to a season-low point total. Coach Bobby Hurley said the team’s goal was to hold the Lumberjacks (4-5) to under 49 points. Mission accomplished there.

ASU shot 50% 26-for-52) for the game, with an even split, 15-for-30 in the first and 11-for-22 in the second half. NAU shot 33.3% (17-for-51), which included a 5-for-26 from long distance.

What went right

Got scoring punch from the bench: ASU is 8-0 when getting more points from its bench than the opponent, and 0-2 when it does not. In this one, it wasn’t even close as the Sun Devils had a significant advantage here, 33-3. Allen Mukeba had 10, Anthony “Pig” Johnson nine, and Marcus Adams 8.

Rebounded better: This is an area where the Sun Devils have made noticeable strides in the last two games, and this was an opponent ASU should have bested on the board because it was one of the few where they have had a size advantage. The Sun Devils won the battle 41-15, with a 10-4 edge on the offensive glass and a 31-21 advantage on the defensive boards. Santiago Trout had eight, with Mukeba, Andrija Grbovic, and Massamba Diop each collecting six.

Used inside presence: The 7-0 freshman Diop had a career-high 19 points on an 8-for-10 showing from the field. Hurley said his team didn’t go to him enough

What went wrong

A few too many turnovers: ASU had 13, which is too many against a .500 foe. NAU had 10 steals, and it wasn’t exactly pressuring the ball. It was the area in which Hurley was most disappointed. Diop had four. The Sun Devils were fortunate NAU only manufactured 12 points off those turnovers. NAU also had 13 turnovers, and ASU scored 23 points off those.

A bit sluggish in the first half: ASU ended the first half up 35-26. It was up 11-2, then faltered a bit, and the Lumberjacks actually went ahead 14-13 with 10:40 left in the half.

Personnel notes

ASU has used the same starting lineup for all 10 games this season. A total of 10 athletes entered the game and all of them scored. The last person to score was Moe Odum, who came in averaging 18.9 points per game. His only two points came at the line with 30 seconds left.

Up next

The Sun Devils are back on the road for another neutral site game, the fifth of the season. ASU will square off with Santa Clara (8-2) in the Jack Jones Hoop Hall Classic at 5 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada. ASU is 3-1 in neutral-site games while the Broncos are 1-1.

The teams played last season with ASU prevailing 81-74.

Source link