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‘City of a Thousand’: Arizona lawmaker pushes for sanctioned camps as ‘temporary’ solution to homeless crisis

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‘City of a Thousand’: Arizona lawmaker pushes for sanctioned camps as ‘temporary’ solution to homeless crisis


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That is the ultimate a part of the four-part sequence “Metropolis of a Thousand,” which takes a take a look at homelessness within the Phoenix space. In case you missed it, listed here are the hyperlinks to Half 1, Half 2 and Half 3.

PHOENIX – Previously three weeks, we have now seemed on the downside of homelessness within the Phoenix space.

“The mayor and the governor can’t let this go on. Someone must do one thing,” mentioned Steve Harrison.

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“That is nothing greater than our throwaway society, solely it occurs to be human beings,” mentioned Greg Doepker.

Now, we shift our focus as to if there shall be a long-term answer to such a multilayered challenge that impacts not solely Phoenix, however main cities throughout the nation as properly.

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In Houston, leaders offering ‘the way in which house’ to the homeless

Ana Rausch is Vice President of Program Operations with the Coalition for Homeless of Houston and Harris County, which leads 100 companions made up of service companies, non-profits, native governments, and public housing authorities.

In that space, a homeless response system referred to as ‘The Means Dwelling’ os investing $65 million with American Rescue Plan funds. There’s additionally a statewide tenting ban in Texas.

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“We did not put folks in motels, we did not arrange shelter further shelters,” mentioned Rausch. “We simply put the majority of it into housing.”

Rausch says greater than 8,000 folks have been housed because the program’s first launch. Based on the coalition’s 2022 Homeless Rely and Survey Report, the unhoused inhabitants within the Houston area is down almost 21% since October 2020, and fell 63% since 2011.

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Based on a depend on a January evening, there have been 3,223 folks experiencing homelessness throughout three counties within the Houston space.

“We use ‘Housing First.’ It is a mannequin that takes somebody from homelessness and places them right into a everlasting house, after which present providers after they transfer in, as a result of it is — you understand, and I’ll say that it is a stereotype — that individuals which can be experiencing homelessness have substance use points. Sure, there are loads with extreme psychological sickness, however in case you’ve been residing on the streets for lots of lengthy, very long time, there’s a variety of trauma,” mentioned Rausch.

Just lately, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner introduced the beginning of this system’s second section. The coalition will make investments one other $100 million, with an purpose to accommodate one other 7,000 folks.

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“Part 2 will allow us to holistically decommission and scale back avenue homelessness to the bottom stage of any main metropolis within the nation,” mentioned Mayor Turner.

“When everyone seems to be aligned and making these choices, you simply work collectively to make it possible for the interventions that you simply put in place are going to handle the wants of the group, and never simply be non permanent band-aids,” mentioned Rausch.

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In Arizona, politician proposing a ‘non permanent repair’

Arizona State Capitol

In Arizona, one politician can also be proposing an answer for the homeless disaster.

“It is non permanent, emergency housing that we’d like now,” mentioned State Sen. David Livingston (R).

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State Sen. Livingston represents the state’s twenty second Legislative District, which covers parts of the far northwest Valley, and is a sponsor of SB1581, The invoice, because it at the moment stands, would supply $50 to cities for sanctioned homeless encampments.

“Now we have not been profitable the previous couple of years addressing homelessness,” mentioned State Sen. Livingston. “Now we have to do that slightly in another way, so this might be that intermediate step I feel we’re lacking out on.”

What State Sen. Livingston is describing are primarily sub-shelters with bogs, potable water, and 24-hour safety. He says the camp might be a warehouse, massive tent construction, or a tiny house web site. Non-profits could be concerned with avenue outreach.

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The invoice is modeled after the Decreasing Avenue Homelessness Act, which is written by a Texas-based suppose tank known as the Cicero Institute. The board’s chairman is Joe Lonsdale, who’s a co-founder of Palantir.

Cicero Institute’s mannequin has not solely unfold to Texas, but it surely has additionally been proposed in Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

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In Arizona, nevertheless, there’s a clear opposition to sanctioned homeless encampments.

“Finally, what we’re doing is creating an area the place folks will die, and we have now to be OK with that, or we will work collectively and create new options which can be confirmed past simply encampments as a result of sure, there’s worth to them, however they can’t be our reply,” mentioned Richard Crews.

When requested whether or not the invoice may be seen as criminalizing the unsheltered, State Sen. Livingston supplied this in response.

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“So, the League of Cities have had many discussions on that, and that isn’t the purpose,” mentioned State Sen. Livingston. “We do not wanna criminalize this, however legal exercise is occurring down in ‘The Zone.’ Individuals are being raped. Medicine are taking place. Individuals are dying. So we have to present alternate options, and have the homeless people select to get assist.”

Enterprise proprietor in ‘The Zone’ sounds off on invoice

Angela Ojile, whose design studio is within the coronary heart of ‘The Zone’ close to eleventh Avenue and Madison, helps SB1581. She says she has been asking town to do extra in regards to the rising encampment, sooner.

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Ojile shared images of the homeless disaster’ impression on her property: a trashed sidewalk, undergarments hanging on her fence, and that very same fence in flames.

“If this was your brother or sister, would you need them out right here for an evening?” mentioned Ojile.

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Maricopa County launching community of sources

On June 1, officers with Maricopa County, together with the Arizona Multi-Housing Affiliation, introduced the launch of ‘Threshold,’ which is a community of sources for property house owners and managers.

The community’s purpose is to lease to folks transitioning from homelessness to everlasting housing, and $5 million shall be invested to interact property house owners.

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Since 2021, Maricopa County has spent almost $150 million to handle homelessness and inexpensive housing by the use of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Different Homeless Disaster Tales



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Arizona

Report of shots fired at Phoenix Sky Harbor prompts heavy police presence

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Report of shots fired at Phoenix Sky Harbor prompts heavy police presence


PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Gunshots reportedly rang out at Terminal 4 of Phoenix Sky Harbor on Christmas night.

Airport officials tell Arizona’s Family that police responded to reports of gunfire around 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday.

One security checkpoint and the PHX Sky Train was temporarily closed as part of the investigation, however the areas have since reopened.

At this time, police have not confirmed if anyone is injured or if anyone has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting.

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Arizona’s Family has a crew on scene. Check back for updates

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.



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Harkins Theatres invites Sun Devil fans to watch Peach Bowl

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Harkins Theatres invites Sun Devil fans to watch Peach Bowl


Can’t make the trip to Atlanta for Arizona State football’s Peach Bowl matchup versus Texas? Harkins Theatres has you covered.

The Valley-owned theatre is inviting Sun Devil fans to watch the Peach Bowl live on the big screen at two locations: Harkins Tempe Marketplace and Camelview at Scottsdale Fashion Square.

Fans can show off their Sun Devil pride and experience the “ultimate gameday setting” with tickets for $22 that include a complimentary small popcorn.

Kickoff is at 11 a.m. on Jan. 1. A win over Texas would propel Arizona State into the College Football semifinals, where it’ll play the winner of Oregon-Ohio State.

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Fans can get their tickets on Harkins’ website or in person at the Camelview at Scottsdale Fashion Square or Tempe Marketplace box offices.

Sun Devils grateful for support

Arizona State getting into the College Football Playoff, or even winning the Big 12 alone, was unprecedented.

The Sun Devils are the talk of the Valley right now, and whether it’s from those traveling across the country to watch in person or cheering from home in the Valley, the team is thankful for all the support they’re getting.

“I’m grateful and blessed to be in the corner that (Sun Devil fans) want to be supporting,” Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo said. “I know what it costs and what it takes to get there. It’s nice to have those people that try their hardest to get there and could be spending every dollar in their bank account to get there.”

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‘We are united’: how Arizona’s attorney general plans to manage border chaos

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‘We are united’: how Arizona’s attorney general plans to manage border chaos


Kris Mayes, the attorney general of Arizona, has vowed to fight the incoming Trump administration over key aspects of its immigration policy, including any attempt to set up deportation camps on Arizonan soil or remove thousands of migrant “dreamers” who came to the US as children.

In an interview with the Guardian, Mayes said that any move by Donald Trump in his second presidential term to unpick the rights of dreamers to remain and work in the US would be a “bright red line for me. I will not stand for an attempt to deport them, or undermine them.”

Arizona, a critical border state that will be on the frontline of the struggle over Trump’s plans for mass deportations, has more than 30,000 dreamers, undocumented migrants who entered the US unlawfully as children but who were afforded rights under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca). The program was introduced by Barack Obama in 2012 but has been under relentless attack by Republicans ever since.

“I definitely will be fighting on behalf of dreamers,” Mayes said. “These folks are firefighters, police officers, teachers – they are part of the very fabric of our state and we will protect them.”

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Trump tried to scrap Daca protections during his first presidency and was only stopped by a narrow ruling from the US supreme court. He recently softened his position, telling NBC News that he wanted to find a way to allow dreamers to stay in the country, though his apparent U-turn has left many skeptical of his intentions.

The Daca program is already being challenged by Republican states in a lawsuit that is currently before the ultra-conservative fifth circuit court of appeals. The case is almost certain to reach the supreme court, which has a six-to-three supermajority of rightwing justices.

Despite the hurdles facing dreamers, Mayes said she remains optimistic.

“I think the supreme court will ultimately see the merits of protecting them. We want to give the courts the opportunity to make the right decision here, and we’ll be making very strong arguments on that proposition,” she said.

Arizona’s attorney general also had strong words about any attempt by Trump to construct detention camps in her state as part of his plans to mass-deport millions of undocumented immigrants. She said her army of lawyers were also primed to push back on any move to renew family separation, the policy under which thousands of children were taken away from their parents at the Mexican border as part of a “zero tolerance” strategy.

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“If Trump tries to engage in family separation, or build mass deportation camps, I will do everything I can legally to fight that. That is not happening in Arizona, not on our soil,” she said.

Mayes added that family separation – which has left up to 1,000 families still rent apart six years later – was “fundamentally anathema to who Arizonans are”.

Mayes and her team have been preparing for months for the anticipated whirlwind of activity as soon as Trump re-enters the White House on 20 January. They have “scoured”, as she put it, Project 2025, the rightwing playbook for a Trump second term compiled by the Heritage Foundation.

She has also been working closely with other Democratic state attorneys general, noting that between them they filed more than 100 lawsuits during Trump’s first presidency, winning 80% of them.

“One of our strengths is that we are doing this very much together, we are united and we are organized,” Mayes said.

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The importance of cross-state cooperation is likely to be all the more critical over border issues.

Mayes said that she was working with her Democratic counterparts Rob Bonta of California and Raúl Torrez of New Mexico – with only the Republican attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, taking a very different, anti-immigrant approach.

“Three of the four border states have attorneys general in Democratic hands and we are going to fight for due process and for individual rights,” she explained.

A complicating factor is Proposition 314, the ballot measure passed in Arizona in November with a resounding 63% of the vote. It allows state police to arrest any undocumented person who crosses into the US other than at legal ports of entry.

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Mayes said that the decision would not deter her from resisting Trump’s unconstitutional moves.

“Proposition 314 tells us that Arizonans are fed up with a dysfunctional border,” she said.

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“We are facing a serious fentanyl crisis in our state, and there’s no doubt that Arizonans want our border addressed. But when Arizonans voted for Donald Trump they did not vote to shred the Arizona and US constitution – I strongly believe that.”

What was needed at the border was more federal resources to increase border patrol boots on the ground, boost the interception of fentanyl, and enhance prosecution of drug cartels. What was not needed, Mayes insisted, was Trump’s threatened plan to send in the national guard and even the US military to act as a souped-up deportation force.

“There’s nothing more unAmerican than using the military against Americans,” she said. “It’s clearly unconstitutional, and it’s not something Arizonans want to see.”

Since being elected to the position of Arizona’s top law enforcement officer in 2022, Mayes has established herself as a rising star in the Democratic party capable of negotiating the at times fraught politics of a border state. Her most high-profile act came in April when she indicted 18 people including Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former chief of staff Mark Meadows for participating in the 2020 “fake electors” conspiracy.

A similar prosecution of fake electors in Georgia was recently upended after an appeals court disqualified the Atlanta prosecutor in charge of the case, Fani Willis.

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Mayes told the Guardian that despite Trump’s victory in November, she had no intention of dropping the fake electors case. “These indictments were handed down by a state grand jury, and you don’t do justice by popular vote. The case is in the courts now, and that’s where it’s going to stay until it’s over.”

Such a prominent prosecution could place her in the crosshairs of Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for director of the FBI. Should Patel be confirmed for the job by the US Senate, he has made it clear he will pursue revenge investigations against those deemed to be Trump’s enemies.

Mayes didn’t want to discuss Patel’s nomination. But she did say: “I’m not afraid of anyone. I’m going to do my job, uphold the law and protect Arizonans. I’m going to do it no matter who is at the helm of the FBI.”



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