TEMPE, AZ — Tempe tallied 280 unsheltered people in its July Point-in-Time Homeless Count, three fewer than the winter count but three more than a year ago — a result city officials call progress.
The number, released this week following the July 22 count, represents a downward trend from the summer 2022 count of 515 unsheltered people.
Community Health and Human Services Director Tim Burch said the flat numbers since last summer's count, amid federal pandemic funding expiring and more people losing healthcare and food benefits, reflect the impact of sustained investment.
"To hold that ground shows that the significant investments we made at the city of Tempe into making homelessness rare, brief, and one-time [are] working," Burch said.
Tempe is the only Arizona city to conduct a summer count, which officials have said allows them to gather more data to track trends and inform strategies. Such strategies include the city's HOPE Team, which meets people experiencing homelessness on the streets daily to connect them with resources and shelter, and the Tempe Works jobs program.
The city reports it more than doubled the number of people connected to long-term housing solutions from 538 in 2023 to 1,179 in 2025. With a total of 615 so far in 2026, the city said it's on pace to house more than 3,200 people in three years.
The point-in-time count serves as more than a census. City staff and volunteers conduct a questionnaire when meeting homeless individuals to identify how long they have been unsheltered and how their homelessness originated.
"Because every journey is different, but we look for trends," Burch said, better informing community health, homeless outreach and crisis workers to properly assist "any individual who says, 'Today is the day I want off of the streets.'"
The results come as Tempe was recently cleared in a probe into allegations that city officials misused police databases to track homeless advocates. Peoria Police found no evidence to support those claims, with the city maintaining all procedures were proper.
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