Category: Now Happening

The American Rescue Plan signed into law on March 11 includes another round of direct payments to individuals and families. People who do not have a permanent address or do not typically file taxes, known as nonfilers, are still eligible to receive a stimulus check.

On March 24, 2021, TPCH published Don’t Miss Out: A Guide to the 2021 Economic Impact Payments for People Experiencing Homelessness.  The guide provides information about the 2021 Economic Impact Payments for people experiencing homelessness. It includes answers to commonly asked questions and local resources to help people experiencing homelessness receive Economic Impact Payments if they are eligible. This guide also provides steps people experiencing homelessness can take if they were eligible for the first or second Economic Impact Payments in 2020 but did not receive them.

Click here to download the guide to share with homeless advocates and people experiencing homelessness.

Special Considerations for People Experiencing Homelessness

For the second and third round of payments, people who receive disability support or are part of other federal programs, should not need to take any additional steps to receive their check. The federal government will automatically issue checks to people who are part of these federal programs:

• Social Security Old-Age retirement, Survivors or Disability Insurance
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Railroad Retirement Board benefits
• Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits

For nonfilers, the IRS will use 2019 records, including anyone who used the IRS nonfiler tool (which is now closed) to claim a first or second stimulus check. The IRS has not yet confirmed when payments for nonfilers will be issued. For more information, please visit the IRS’s Get My Payment Frequently Asked Questions.

For those individuals and families for which the IRS already has bank information, they will most likely receive a direct deposit into their bank account. Others may receive a paper check or debit card. People without a permanent address can use the address of a shelter, friend, or family member.

“The SB 1325 striker amendment is needless and unjust,” said TPCH Board Chairperson, Daniela Figueroa. “It is devastating that the State legislature is spending time during the COVID-19 pandemic to legislate hate.”

TPCH opposes the striker amendment to Senate Bill 1325.  Arizona youth and families have a right to expect that a therapist practicing under a license from the state will not put them at risk of severe harm. Arizona has already rejected the dangerous and disavowed practice of so-called “conversion therapy.”  If passed, the proposed striker amendment will prevent any restrictions on this harmful practice by the State, professional licensing boards, local governments, and school boards. This bill undermines medical regulation and the public trust by opening a broad and unqualified loophole that would allow any provider to engage in abusive practices by claiming they are based on conscience or belief.

Take action today: Urge your state legislators to oppose the striker amendment to SB 1325.

Send an automated message to your state legislators

Read the amendment text

Check the bill’s status

How will this legislation hurt Arizona? What does this have to do with homelessness?

Legislation like the proposed SB 1325 striker amendment further stigmatizes and de-humanizes LGBTQ+ Arizonans. Local and national research consistently indicates heightened risk of homelessness and other harmful experiences among LGBTQ+ communities.

The 2015 United States Transgender Survey found that one in three transgender Americans experience homelessness at some point during their lifetimes and the National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that LGBTQ+ youth are suffering.

• 48% of LGBTQ+ youth reported engaging in self-harm in the past twelve months, including over 60% of transgender and non-binary youth.
• 46% of LGBTQ+ youth report they wanted psychological or emotional counseling from a mental health professional but were unable to receive it in the past 12 months.
• 10% of LGBTQ+ youth reported undergoing conversion therapy, with 78% reporting it occurred when they were under age 18.
• 29% of LGBTQ+ youth have experienced homelessness, been kicked out, or run away.
• 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ youth reported that they had been physically threatened or harmed in their lifetime due to their LGBTQ identity.
• 61% of transgender and non-binary youth reported being prevented or discouraged from using a bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.
• 86% of LGBTQ+ youth said that recent politics have negatively impacted their well-being.

TPCH opposes Arizona House Bill 2725. This one-sentence bill seeks to preemptively erase the legal recognition of non-binary and other gender diverse Arizonans identities. HB 2725 would require state identification documents to contain only a male or female gender marker. The bill pre-emptively bans nonbinary people, who are neither exclusively male nor female, from using gender-neutral X markers on their IDs, even though this is not currently permitted under Arizona law.

“HB 2725 is needless and unjust,” said TPCH Board Chairperson, Daniela Figueroa. “It is devastating that the State legislature is spending time during the COVID-19 pandemic to legislate hate.”

Take action today by contacting legislators and urging them to oppose HB 2725.

• Follow this link to send an automated message to your legislators: https://act.hrc.org/page/76023/action/1?locale=en-US
• Link to HB 2725  text: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/55leg/1r/bills/hb2725p.pdf
• Link to HB 2725 status: https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/75532

How will HB 2725 hurt Arizona? What does this have to do with homelessness?

Bills like the HB 2725 further stigmatize and de-humanize gender diverse Arizonans including youth who are disproportionately impacted by homelessness. Although there is limited research regarding the prevalence of homelessness among gender non-binary persons, local and national research consistently indicates heightened risk among LGBTQ+ communities. The 2015 United States Transgender Survey found that one in three transgender Americans experience homelessness at some point during their lifetimes and the National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that LGBTQ+ youth are suffering.

• 48% of LGBTQ+ youth reported engaging in self-harm in the past twelve months, including over 60% of transgender and non-binary youth.
• 46% of LGBTQ+ youth report they wanted psychological or emotional counseling from a mental health professional but were unable to receive it in the past 12 months.
• 10% of LGBTQ+ youth reported undergoing conversion therapy, with 78% reporting it occurred when they were under age 18.
• 29% of LGBTQ+ youth have experienced homelessness, been kicked out, or run away.
• 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ youth reported that they had been physically threatened or harmed in their lifetime due to their LGBTQ identity.
• 61% of transgender and non-binary youth reported being prevented or discouraged from using a bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.
• 86% of LGBTQ+ youth said that recent politics have negatively impacted their well-being.

In this video from the February 11, 2021 TPCH Quarterly Membership Meeting (general council), Dr. Keith Bentele with University of Arizona Southwest Institute for Research on Women provides an update on the University’s forecasting of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on homelessness in Pima County.

Watch the recorded presentation here. 

In this video from the February 2021 TPCH Quarterly Membership Meeting (general council), Louie Valenzuela with the Pima County Health Department provides an update on COVID-19 vaccination activities in Pima County and plans to make vaccination available to people experiencing homelessness in the region.

View the presentation recording here. 

In this video from the February 11, 2021 TPCH Quarterly Membership Meeting (general council), Jason Thorpe with the City of Tucson Housing & Community Development provides an overview of the TPCH Community Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.

Watch the recorded presentation here.

This session is perfect for direct service staff including outreach workers and housing navigators, resource specialists, case managers, shelter workers, and others, as well as program managers.

March 3, 2021 – 10:30am-12:00pm

Register online at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ce7NdEM1Qc2mFbU7JP7AXQ.

Trainer:

Ed Mercurio-Sakwa, Chief Executive Officer, Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse

JOIN TUCSON PIMA COLLABORATION TO END HOMELESSNESS FOR OUR QUARTERLY MEMBERSHIP MEETING

FEBRUARY 11,2021, 3PM – 5PM

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all TPCH meetings are being conducted virtually until further notice.

Register to attend: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUoc–pqz4oE9SJ3nIhi-aPRHLfnJ484UTF

MEETING MATERIALS

Download the Meeting Agenda

Download the Roster of TPCH Members with Current Voting Privileges

Download the Draft 2021-2024 Community Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness

MEETING AGENDA