Phoenix faces dueling lawsuits over homeless crisis as advocates scramble for more shelter
Phoenix is facing dueling lawsuits as it tries to manage a crisis of homelessness that has converted its downtown into a tent city housing hundreds of people as summer temperatures soar.
White House vows more federal aid to reduce homelessness in 5 cities and California
Five major U.S. cities, including Phoenix, and the state of California will receive federal help to get unsheltered residents into permanent housing under a new plan launched Thursday as part of the Biden administration's larger goal to reduce homelessness 25% by 2025.
City of Phoenix to appeal ruling compelling it to clear out homeless encampment
The City of Phoenix filed notice it would be appealing a ruling compelling the city to clear out the homeless encampment known as “the Zone” by July and filed a motion to stay the ruling amid the appeal.
Judge orders Phoenix to clean out ‘the Zone’ homeless site
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ordered the City of Phoenix to clean out “the Zone” homeless encampment downtown.
Phoenix urged to pass ordinance prohibiting discrimination against some renters
Residents who have struggled with high rent in America’s fifth-largest city are calling on city officials to address discrimination against renters who receive public assistance. Carla Naranjo, a coordinator with the nonprofit Unemployed Workers United, is urging the Phoenix City Council to pass an ordinance that would prohibit landlords from rejecting renters who rely on Section 8 housing vouch[...]
Farnsworth’s story of homelessness prompts Senate committee chair to pull Kavanagh’s proposal
A Republican state senator from Mesa's personal experience with mental illness and homelessness derailed a bid by another GOP lawmaker, this one a former cop, to make sleeping on a sidewalk a state crime. Sen. David Farnsworth's extended comments about his struggles led the chairman of a Senate committee to pull Republican Fountain Hills Sen. John Kavanagh's proposal from consideration during a he[...]
Federal judge orders stop to enforcement of camping ban at homeless zone
White dump trucks outfitted with City of Phoenix emblems and street sweepers lined the roads near the concentrated homeless camp dubbed, “the Zone,” this morning as part of their new... […]
ACLU sues Phoenix over homeless ‘sweeps’
Frank Urban and Faith Kearns, who used to be unsheltered, are co-plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Fund for Empowerment against the city of Phoenix, alleging constitutional violations and municipal liability for alleged “sweeps,” subsequent seizure of property and the use of city statutes, “criminalizing homelessness.”