The Housing & Community Development department and Tucson Police department work together to address unsheltered homelessness in the Tucson area. Both departments employ homeless outreach teams which are sent to places where people experiencing unsheltered homelessness to provide resources and connections to emergency shelter and other services.
The Tucson Fire Department’s Tucson Collaborative Community Care (TC3) program provides outreach, referrals, and support for community members who frequently use emergency services, including people experiencing homelessness, to reduce demand on the 911 system and connect community members in need of services to appropriate community providers.
The Housing & Community Development Department administers programs for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness through a variety of federal grant programs including the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Continuum of Care, Emergency Solutions Grant, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, Community Development Block Grant, and HOME Investment Partnerships programs.
Through these programs, funding is provided to local non-profit organizations which provide outreach, homelessness prevention, emergency shelter, transitional housing, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, case management, and wraparound services for people experiencing homelessness.
The City of Tucson Public Housing Authority provides a variety of specialty programs which include housing choice vouchers and public housing units set aside for people experiencing homelessness in need of longer-term housing assistance. These programs ensure vulnerable community members not only escape homelessness but have permanent and safe homes.