Arizona’s homelessness crisis is escalating. In 2025, in Maricopa County alone, the unsheltered population has grown by 28%, bringing the total number of unhoused individuals to nearly 10,000. Shelters across the state are working tirelessly to meet this surge, but one factor often goes overlooked: nearly 20% of individuals experiencing homelessness have pets. 

For these individuals, pets are not just companions — they are family, and often their only source of stability, protection, and unconditional love. Yet our current systems too often force people to choose between accessing help for themselves or staying with their pets. It’s a heartbreaking choice that no one should face. 

At The Arizona Pet Project (AZPP), we believe partnerships are the key to solving this challenge. When human service organizations and animal welfare groups come together, we can build solutions that keep families — including their pets — intact. 

Our collaboration with Keys to Change is one example. In 2024, more than 300 clients received pet services such as food, vaccines, and wellness checks. That partnership grew this year with the addition of a full-time veterinary social worker at Keys to Change’s Lodestar Day Center. This role bridges critical gaps, offering crisis intervention, veterinary care, and pet boarding support — all while helping people navigate the path to stability. 

We’ve also partnered with UMOM New Day Centers, Arizona’s largest homeless shelter, to integrate onsite pet services. This has allowed countless families to stay together during times of transition while enabling UMOM staff to focus fully on caring for people. 

The model has expanded further through work with Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS). By embedding veterinary social workers at their facilities, The Arizona Pet Project helps ensure people entering the shelter don’t have to surrender or be separated from their pets. Instead, their families can remain whole, which research shows leads to better long-term outcomes. 

Partnerships also allow us to innovate beyond traditional shelter walls. Earlier this year, we launched a new collaboration with BestyBnB, a technology platform that connects vetted community members with pets in need of temporary foster care. This solution is vital, especially for survivors of domestic violence, 70% of whom delay leaving unsafe situations if they cannot bring their pets. BestyBnB, combined with The Arizona Pet Project’s wraparound services, gives people in crisis the ability to find safety without sacrificing their bond with their pets. 

I share this information not to pat our backs, but to share that the impact of these collaborations is tangible.  

These efforts demonstrate an important truth: addressing the human-animal bond in crisis response is not just compassionate, it is effective. Research shows one in five individuals experiencing homelessness will refuse shelter if their pet cannot accompany them. Conversely, when pets are welcomed, people are far more likely to accept help and begin rebuilding their lives. 

In today’s uncertain times, partnerships like these offer a powerful path forward. They break down silos between human and animal services, harness community innovation, and provide families with what they need most: to stay together. 

At The Arizona Pet Project, we are proud to lead alongside Keys to Change, UMOM, CASS, BestyBnB, and our partners across the state. But real change will take all of us — service providers, funders, and community leaders — working together to make pet-inclusive practices the norm, not the exception. 

By doing so, we can ensure that when people in Arizona face crisis, they are never forced to choose between safety and the love of their pets. Instead, they can hold on to the bond that sustains them, and take the next steps toward healing and recovery — with their whole family by their side. 

Leanna Taylor is the CEO of The Arizona Pet Project.