TEMPE, AZ — When ABC15 first reported on unhoused families staying at a Tempe motel, AZ Hugs said it was paying for rooms for 56 families. Now the nonprofit puts that number at 85.
On Thursday night, families marched to City Hall, asking the mayor and city leaders to request state funds to pay for 30 days of rooms, food and basic essentials.
“It’s a travesty, this is wrong what’s going on,” Tumisha, who is staying at the motel, said.
As kids carried hand-painted signs, Tumisha carried her own story to City Hall.
“I don’t think they talk about it enough,” she said.
Children, parents and pets are staying in rooms at the motel. On father named Bobby said he lost his apartment when work slowed.
“I'm still on the waiting list, but just like Section 8, that could take months, years, and everything,” Bobby said.
Donations to AZ Hugs cover the families’ rooms at $60 a night.
“We’re just trying to keep a roof over our head,” Bobby said.
AZ Hugs founder Austin Davis now wants the Tempe City Council to ask the state for $200,000 in emergency funding.
“Our hope is that our 85 families here can get shelter funded for the next 30 days, and during those 30 days, we can have a conversation on a larger scale with you know city and local and state partners,” Davis said.
After Thursday’s City Council meeting, four of the city’s HOPE outreach specialists helped connect more families to services.
“Our staff have been going to the motel to provide services,” said Mary Mezey, Tempe’s Interim Community Health and Human Services Director. “We just helped one family that is looking to get into shelter, and their dog needed some vaccines. So our team actually took that family, got the services for that animal, and are helping them with shelter intakes.”
As for funding, Mezey said, “We wouldn’t be able to directly fund an organization without having an open bid process where we would solicit opportunities for other nonprofits."
Tempe says it isn’t aware of AZ Hugs applying for recent city or state grants, saying the city offers $1.1 million to nonprofit partners through Tempe's legal and procurement process, while Governor Hobbs and the Arizona Department of Housing announced $16 million in homelessness grant funding in October.
Davis says the nonprofit recently applied through the Continuum of Care.
“The groups that were funded still have not provided immediately available shelter, so funding the same system that isn't working, isn't going to get families safe tonight,” Davis said.
The governor’s office told ABC15 that emergency declarations are generally reserved for natural disasters.
“This is real life,” Tumisha said. “I am in fact right now homeless.”
In the meantime, the impacted families are stepping out, hoping their situations will change.
“It’s still a waiting game,” Bobby said said. “And right now with the waiting game, you only have so long here at this shelter, because you don’t know when your time is up.”
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