PHOENIX — City leaders are moving forward with a program to help provide long-term housing for dozens of people who otherwise would have a hard time getting an apartment after homelessness.
Wednesday, Phoenix City Council voted to begin building private partnerships for the $5 million master leasing pilot program.
The program would start with at least 50 units. It allows the city to lease apartments from landlords and then sublease them to people who need support to get back into long-term housing.
Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you!
Connect with us: share@abc15.com
"How do we also provide hope to those that are in the shelter system that there is a path out of the shelter system?” Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington said. “This helps individuals who have one or two little blimps in their background that prevent them from getting access to stable housing.”
Hodge Washington said she’s heard from multiple property owners who are interested in helping.
"I thought it was admirable because sometimes we take we think that they're only focused on, you know, the traditional renters, but we do have some community-minded landlords that are willing to be a part of this solution,” Hodge Washington said.
Tanner Swanson with A New Leaf said the organization hopes to help identify people in the shelter system who are ready for an apartment but may struggle to find one due to prior evictions or credit.
"The most affordable and effective way to get someone out of homelessness is to put them in an apartment where they have rent, where they're employed, and this is exactly that situation,” Swanson said. “They're back on their feet, they're employed, they're stable, but they can't get an apartment because of past history.”
The pilot program will be paid for through a combination of federal funds and the city’s Office of Homeless Solutions.
Want more news in your community? Add ABC15 as a preferred source on Google below:
