PHOENIX — ABC15 wanted to know the current status of emergency housing. First, there's the Housing Authority of Maricopa County for Emergency Housing Vouchers.
They do not have waiting lists. However, families are admitted based on referrals. Then there are several Valley nonprofits, like Central Arizona Shelter Services.
CASS and Maricopa County utilize a system called the 'Service Prioritization List' for families that are managed through the '2-1-1 Hub'.
Richard Southee, the Assistant Director of Programs at CASS says the waitlist right now, “It’s just over 200 families. It varies in length between 75 and 300, depending on the time of year."
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That waitlist means your family could be waiting anywhere from two to eight weeks.
“We have this the VISTA shelter, which is a 30-unit emergency family shelter,” Southee said. “When we have an availability, we actually have a centralized list that we call people waiting for emergency shelter, and we call off of that list, identify someone to move into our shelter."
CASS leaders are in Washington D.C. right now for a Homeless Alliance conference advocating for change on a national level.
"In Arizona, the big thing is identifying funding backing support vouchers to bring in more money for families.” Southee says.
"People that work in homelessness know that the cost of homelessness is actually far greater than the cost of ending homelessness,” Southee said. “I think that that's something that we have to do a very concentrated effort and messaging."
If you want to help address the homeless crisis, CASS says the best thing you can do is donate. As a non-profit, they rely on it.
