Arizona
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.
Phoenix holds final ‘Zone’ cleanup
Scott Hall, Phoenix Office of Homeless Solutions, talks about clearing the 15th and final block of “The Zone” on Nov. 1, 2023, on Jackson Street.
Arizona Republic
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.
Arizona
NAU launches first-of-its-kind engineering degree to fast-track Arizona’s future workforce – The NAU Review
As Arizona’s semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries continue to grow at a rapid pace, Northern Arizona University’s Steve Sanghi College of Engineering is launching a new degree program designed to help meet the state’s workforce needs.
Beginning this fall, NAU will offer a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology, a flexible, workforce-focused degree pathway that prepares students for careers in microelectronics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing in as little as three years. The 90-credit bachelor’s degree creates a more accessible pathway into engineering careers through a hands-on, applied curriculum and a streamlined transfer model with Arizona community colleges.
The program follows a 45-45 completion structure, allowing students to complete 45 credits at a community college and 45 credits through NAU. Courses will be delivered through synchronous remote instruction at NAU’s North Valley campus in Phoenix and at Pima Community College in Tucson, increasing access for statewide students.
Addressing Arizona’s growing semiconductor workforce
Designed with workforce readiness in mind, the program emphasizes practical engineering application, systems implementation, testing, quality control, systems analysis, manufacturing, fabrication, process control and project management. Students will gain technical and problem-solving skills aligned with the needs of Arizona’s rapidly evolving manufacturing economy.
“This new bachelor’s degree empowers students to identify real-world engineering challenges and develop practical solutions,” said James Palmer, associate dean for academic affairs at the Steve Sanghi College of Engineering. “We are creating a more accessible pathway into engineering careers while preparing graduates to support Arizona’s growing microelectronics and semiconductor industry.”
Arizona has emerged as one of the nation’s fastest-growing semiconductor hubs, with more than $200 billion in semiconductor-related investments announced in the Greater Phoenix region since 2020, including expansions from Intel, TSMC and Amkor Technology. TSMC alone has committed up to $165 billion toward Arizona operations, including multiple fabrication plants and advanced packaging facilities expected to create thousands of technical and manufacturing jobs.
Industry demand continues to grow for professionals with applied engineering and advanced manufacturing skills in areas such as process engineering, manufacturing systems, equipment operations and yield enhancement. NAU’s new degree program was developed to help students quickly enter these high-demand career fields while supporting Arizona’s long-term economic growth and domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
The program also aligns with NAU’s strategic commitment to expanding access to affordable, student-centered educational opportunities that prepare graduates for meaningful careers and long-term success.
Students interested in learning more about the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology program should contact SCE@nau.edu.
PHOENIX (AP) — The two Republican congressmen running for Arizona governor pitched themselves at a debate Wednesday as the only candidate with broad enough voter appeal to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs amid the state’s affordability struggles.
U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who is the GOP primary’s frontrunner and has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, portrayed himself as being able to cross party lines and having the right experience to be the state’s chief executive.
“There’s not a doubt in my mind, if you look at the polling data that you’re going to find, I am the most competitive with Katie Hobbs of anybody on this stage in any Republican in the state,” Biggs said.
U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who has survived three tough Democratic challenges in recent years, believes his focus on government finances and his drive to bring new business to the state make him the singular Republican candidate.
“These are wonderful people, but they’ve never actually been in the great battle,” Schweikert said of Biggs and two other Republican opponents.
Businessman Scott Neely, who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022, said after the debate that if Biggs wins the primary, Republicans will lose the election.
The winner of the July 21 primary will face Hobbs, who’s running unopposed in the primary.
Biggs has served five terms in the U.S. House, representing a heavily GOP district in the eastern Phoenix suburbs and serving at one time as chairman of the ultra-right U.S. House Freedom Caucus.
Before that, Biggs served in the Arizona Legislature from 2003 through 2016, including four years as president of the state Senate. He battled with then-Republican Gov. Jan Brewer on a Medicaid expansion in 2013 and pushed school choice measures and bills targeting abortion providers.
Biggs is one of Trump’s top defenders in Congress and supported Trump’s false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
Schweikert, a budget hawk known for railing against government debt, has represented an affluent district that includes parts of northeast Phoenix and Scottsdale for eight terms. He served in the Arizona House in the 1990s and as Maricopa County’s treasurer in the 2000s.
Schweikert has focused his congressional career on sounding the alarm about the federal budget deficit and the ballooning U.S. debt, often in late-night speeches to a nearly empty House chamber and bleary-eyed C-SPAN viewers. Schweikert has praised Trump’s 2017 tax cuts but has called for more spending cuts to reduce federal borrowing.
His reputation was tarnished by ethics scandals. In 2022, he received a $125,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission for misappropriating campaign funds. Two years prior, he agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and accept 11 campaign finance violations after an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics. In his last three general campaigns for Congress, Schweikert staved off challenges from Democrats. Biggs voiced support for Arizona’s recent passage of a three-year moratorium on tax incentives for new data centers – a move Hobbs also has touted. “They shouldn’t be given a break,” Biggs said, noting the large amounts of power and water that data centers use.
Schweikert bemoaned Arizona’s unfavorable affordability rankings as “pretty miserable,” but said consumer prices don’t come down magically. He vowed to aggressively recruit businesses to Arizona and push for wage growth.
Both congressmen were asked about the expired healthcare subsidies for those getting coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
“We’re going to have to deal with the reality of subsidization of everything in the economy is not going to work,” Schweikert said.
Biggs said he introduced legislation in Congress to bring down healthcare costs and also voiced support for Trump’s proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and health costs as they see fit.
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