Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness

Category: Now Happening

  • TPCH General Council Meets May 9, 2024

    TPCH General Council Meets May 9, 2024


    Join us for the quarterly General Council meeting of the TPCH membership.  This meeting will be held in person at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, located at 5049 E Broadway.

    For a list of members eligible to vote in this meeting, see the TPCH Voting Member Roster linked below. 

    Please note that the meeting will be 12:30pm – 2:30pm, followed by additional training opportunities 2:45pm – 4:15pm.

    Summary Meeting Agenda

    Roll Call and Consent Agenda

    Jocelyn Muzzin, Continuum of Care Board Chairperson

    Community Celebrations

    Jocelyn Muzzin, Continuum of Care Board Chairperson

    CoC Lead Updates

    Elaine MacPherson, Continuum of Care Lead Agency (City of Tucson)

    Board Updates

    Jocelyn Muzzin, Continuum of Care Board Chairperson

    Housing Central Command Updates

    Housing Central Command Leadership

    Continuum of Care Annual Election Ballot

    Jesus Federico, Continuum of Care Project Coordinator 

    Committee and Coalition Updates

    Committee and Coalition Representatives

    New Business/Announcements

    Group Discussion

    Sessions Offered:

    Shelter Providers Discussion: System Enhancements and Voucher Move On 

    Mari Vasquez, Interagency Resource Coordinator, City of Tucson 

    Elaine MacPherson, Homeless System Improvement Supervisor, City of Tucson 

    Diversion and Rapid Resolution Funds through the Garcia Family Foundation

    Kyle Kerns, Continuum of Care Project Coordinator, City of Tucson

    LGBTQIA+ Equity

    Shannon Fowler, Assistant Research Social Scientist, University of Arizona Southwest Institute for Research on Women (UA SIROW) 

    Download the Meeting Materials:

    5.9.2024_TPCH General Council Meeting Agenda

    TPCH Voting Member Roster_5.9.2024

    GENERAL COUNCIL_MIN_02.15.2024_Draft

     

     

  • TPCH Continuum of Care Board announces call for Board and Committee Applications – Applications due April 24, 2024

    TPCH Continuum of Care Board announces call for Board and Committee Applications – Applications due April 24, 2024

     

    TPCH Continuum of Care Board announces call for Board and Committee Applications
    Applications due date extended to Wednesday, April 24, 2024 by 11:59pm

    Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness (TPCH) is looking for applicants for the TPCH Board and the TPCH Committees. Committee members can serve on up to two committees at a time. Elections are held every year to ensure new perspectives and ideas are consistently available and opportunities are given to interested candidates. In the event of a contested seat, the highest vote-getter will be elected. In the event of a tie vote, TPCH shall select from the tie-getting candidates with a particular focus on promoting diversity in terms of expertise, experience, race, ethnicity, cultural affiliation, gender, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and other relevant factors.

    The CoC Board especially encourages applications from persons with lived experience of homelessness, LGBTQ+ persons, and Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Interested persons should complete the online application form using the links provided below.

    COC BOARD VACANCIES
    6 seats available for persons with or without lived experience of homelessness. Applications are encouraged from those who come with the following perspectives and expertise:

    • VA or VA-funded projects
    • Behavioral Health Services
    • County or County-funded projects
    • State or State-funded projects
    • Faith Leader
    • Immigration Advocacy/Services
    • Evaluation/Data Analysis

    Click here to apply for a CoC Board seat.

    COMMITTEE VACANCIES

    Committee seats reserved for persons with lived experience of homelessness may be filled by persons with any form of lived experience as self-identified by the applicant which may include, but is not limited to, unaccompanied youth homelessness, doubled up experiences, prior eviction, and/or participation in homeless or public housing/Section 8 programs at any point in the applicant’s lifetime.

    Committee seats not reserved for persons with lived experience of homelessness may be filled by any qualified community member including persons with or without lived experience of homelessness.

    Click here to apply for one or more of the TPCH Committees.

    HMIS Committee:  3 seats available (may be filled by persons with or without lived experience of homelessness). Ideal candidates have experience with the Homeless Management Information System, data analysis, and/or data governance.

    Coordinated Entry Committee: 3 seats available, 1 of which is reserved for a person with lived experience of homelessness. Ideal candidates have experience with Behavioral Health Authority, veteran services, and/or rural services.

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee: 5 seats available (may be filled by persons with or without lived experience of homelessness). Ideal candidates have a demonstrated commitment to racial equity, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and citizenship/immigration issues, as well as experience with VA or VA-funded projects, County or County-funded projects, State or State-funded projects, and/or faith leaders.

    Continuum of Care Program Grant Committee: 4 seats available, 1 of which is reserved for persons with lived experience of homelessness. Not more than 2 seats will be filled by persons representing organizations that receive CoC Program funding. Ideal candidates have experience with Safe Haven programs, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, veteran services, chronic homeless services, and/or human trafficking services.

    System Performance Evaluation Committee: 4 seats available (may be filled by persons with or without lived experience of homelessness). Ideal candidates have experience working with shelters, rapid rehousing, VA or VA-funded projects, Health and Human Services Runaway & Homeless Youth funded projects, privately funded services, and chronic homeless services.

    Click here to review the TPCH Code of Conduct.

    Click here to review the TPCH Conflict of Interest Policy.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • City of Tucson Announces Request for Qualifications: Continuum of Care (CoC) Funded Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)

    City of Tucson Announces Request for Qualifications: Continuum of Care (CoC) Funded Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)

    City of Tucson and Pima Housing and Community Development Department Announces Request for Qualifications From Organizations Interested in Administering Continuum of Care Funded Permanent Supportive Housing Projects

    Dear Community Partner,

    The City of Tucson Housing and Community Development Department is pleased to announce this Request for Qualifications from organizations interested in administering Continuum of Care Program funded permanent supportive housing (PSH) projects for young adults and medically vulnerable persons experiencing chronic homelessness and/or meeting Dedicated Plus homeless eligibility standards. Funding is available to administer the Transitions PSH project for youth and the Medical Respite PSH project for medically vulnerable adults. Please see the below link for instructions:

    COT Request for Qualifications – CoC PSH Projects 2024

    The full Request for Qualifications is attached.  Letters of interest are due on or before 11:59pm Arizona time on April 30, 2024.  Please send questions related to this opportunity to hcdgrants@tucsonaz.gov.  Thank you!

  • TPCH General Council Updates, Attendance, and Voting Privileges Community Notice

    TPCH General Council Updates, Attendance, and Voting Privileges Community Notice

    TPCH Membership Met on Thursday, February 15, 2024 

     

    TPCH Membership Met on Thursday, February 15, 2024 from 12:30-2:30 PM


    General Meeting Updates

    TPCH General Council had quorum for this meeting and discussed many committee and coalition updates, including system changes for Coordinated Entry and an update on the Housing Central Command Initiative, launched with the implementation of five projects funded by the Supplemental Notice of Funding Opportunity to Address Unsheltered Homelessness (Special NOFO).

    One breakout session also brainstormed new community strategies for effective discharge planning from institutions for people experiencing homelessness. This workgroup is ongoing, and those interested in participating are encouraged to reach out to tpch@tucsonaz.gov. Representatives of the justice services, healthcare, and child welfare systems are especially encouraged to participate. 

    Update to the TPCH Governance Charter 

    Feedback garnered from TPCH committee and board leadership has led to robust conversations about the need for our Continuum of Care to respond quickly to challenges. The Housing Central Command initiative has shown the power of making decisions in real-time based on evidence-based approaches. To ensure that committees can react to system challenges in a nimble and collaborative manner, the following motion was approved by the General Council: 

    Motion: to add the following language to the TPCH Governance Charter clarifying the purpose of TPCH Committees: 

    “While each committee is operating within its domain, they are able to make decisions on behalf of the CoC with the following exceptions:
    a) decisions that would also impact another committee’s domain, and
    b) decisions with financial implications.”

    View the updated Governance Charter here.  

    Attendance and Voting Status Updates 

    Section 2.04 of the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness Governance Charter requires that the CoC Lead Agency/Collaborative Applicant publish a list of members gaining voting privileges, at risk of losing voting privileges, and having lost voting privileges within one month following each General Council meeting. The last TPCH General Council meeting was held on Thursday, November 9, 2023 from 12:30-2:30 PM. 

    Per the TPCH Governance Charter, voting privileges are assigned to TPCH members in attendance at two of the three immediately preceding General Council meetings. For a list of members now eligible to vote as a result of attending this meeting, see the TPCH Voting Member Roster. 

    If you believe your voting privileges are not accurately reported here, please email tpch@tucsonaz.gov.

  • City of Tucson and Pima County Invite Community Members to Public Meeting Regarding Proposed Use of FY 2025 HUD Program Funds

    City of Tucson and Pima County Invite Community Members to Public Meeting Regarding Proposed Use of FY 2025 HUD Program Funds

     

    City of Tucson and Pima County Invite TPCH Members to Public Meeting Regarding Proposed Use of FY 2025 HUD Program Funds

    View the public notice in English
    Ver el aviso público en español

    Notice of Public Hearing

    City of Tucson-Pima County Consortium Federal Fiscal Year 2025 HUD Annual Action Plan

    The City of Tucson and Pima County receive federal funds to support housing and community development activities through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD requires that the consortium to develop an Annual Action Plan which outlines the needs, priorities and strategies for housing, supportive services, and community development programs to be undertaken with HUD program funds.  The Annual Action Plan additionally serves as the local government’s application for annual entitlement funding through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) programs.  The City of Tucson and Pima County will host two public hearings regarding the FY 2025 Annual Action Plan on March 14, 2024:

    Public Hearing (English Language): March 14, 1:00pm (Virtual – Zoom)
    Public Hearing (Spanish Language): March 14, 5:30pm (Virtual – Zoom)

    Register to attend the virtual public meetings at www.tucsonaz.gov/hcd.

    For accommodations; materials in accessible formats; foreign language interpreters; and/or materials in a language other than English, please contact the City of Tucson Housing and Community Development Department, Susan Spiess, (520) 837-5311 or call (520) 791-2639 for TDD at least 5 business days in advance.

  • TPCH General Council Meets February 15, 2024

    TPCH General Council Meets February 15, 2024


    Join us for the quarterly General Council meeting of the TPCH membership.  This meeting will be held in person at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, located at 5049 E Broadway.

    For a list of members eligible to vote in this meeting, see the TPCH Voting Member Roster linked below. 

    Please note that the meeting will be 12:30pm – 2:30pm, followed by additional training opportunities 2:45pm – 4:15pm.

    Summary Meeting Agenda

    Roll Call and Consent Agenda

    Jocelyn Muzzin, Continuum of Care Board Chairperson

     

    Community Celebrations

    Jocelyn Muzzin, Continuum of Care Board Chairperson

     

    CoC Lead Updates

    Elaine MacPherson, Continuum of Care Lead Agency (City of Tucson)

     

    Board Updates

    Jocelyn Muzzin, Continuum of Care Board Chairperson

    Motion: to add the following language to the TPCH Governance Charter clarifying the purpose of TPCH Committees:

    “While each committee is operating within its domain, they are able to make decisions on behalf of the CoC with the following exceptions:
    a) decisions that would also impact another committee’s domain, and
    b) decisions with financial implications.”

     

    Housing Central Command Updates

    Austin Puca, Continuum of Care Manager

     

    Committee and Coalition Updates

    Committee and Coalition Representatives

     

    Sessions Offered:

    Community Discussion on Discharge Planning
    (Facilitated by the CoC Lead)

    Outreach Teams: New Waves of Street Drugs and Things to Look Out For

    (Facilitated by Sergeant Jack Julsing and Lieutenant Matt Brady of the Tucson Police Department)

     

    Download the Meeting Materials:

    TPCH General Council Meeting Draft Agenda (February 2024)

    TPCH Voting Member Roster as of November 2023

    TPCH General Council Meeting Minutes (November 2023)

    DRAFT TPCH Governance Charter Revisions

  • TPCH to Host Overview of the Housing Central Command Initiative

    TPCH to Host Overview of the Housing Central Command Initiative

    TPCH to Host Overview of the Housing Central Command Initiative

     

    Thursday, January 18, 2024

    320 N. Commerce Park Loop, Tucson, AZ 85745

    Sentinel Building

    9:00-11:00 AM

     The TPCH Program Grant Committee is hosting a series of sessions on performance in our Continuum of Care related to bed utilization, grant expenditure, and prompt access to housing. Previously, the committee held a discussion on increasing income for participants enrolled in housing programs.

    In the spirit of our collective goal to utilize all available funded beds, expend all grant funds, and rapidly house people experiencing homelessness,  TPCH leadership welcomes the community to attend an overview of the recently launched TPCH Housing Central Command initiative. The Housing Central Command initiative is based on a crisis response model developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to rehouse people after natural disasters.  In our community’s partnership with the Housing Central Command team, we are exploring the many ways our system can be retooled to optimize services and rapidly house people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

    All perspectives interested in learning more about our system improvement efforts are welcome at this conversation.

    Those who attend the session can expect to learn: 

    • The core principles of the Housing Central Command approach,
    • Anticipated changes to our coordinated community approach to rapidly house people experiencing unsheltered homelessness,
    • An introduction to tools under development to make these changes possible, and
    • A process map for the new approach under development.

    Register here to attend the session.

  • TPCH General Council Attendance and Voting Privileges Community Notice

    TPCH General Council Attendance and Voting Privileges Community Notice

    TPCH Quarterly Membership Met on Thursday, November 9, 2023 

     


    Section 2.04 of the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness Governance Charter requires that the CoC Lead Agency/Collaborative Applicant publish a list of members gaining voting privileges, at risk of losing voting privileges, and having lost voting privileges within one month following each General Council meeting. The last TPCH General Council meeting was held on Thursday, November 9, 2023 from 12:30-4:15pm.

    Per the TPCH Governance Charter, voting privileges are assigned to TPCH members in attendance at two of the three immediately preceding General Council meetings. For a list of members now eligible to vote as a result of attending this meeting, see the TPCH Voting Member Roster: TPCH Voting Member Roster_Voting Status Updates from 11.9.23 General Council

    If you believe your voting privileges are not accurately reported here, please email tpch@tucsonaz.gov.

  • TPCH Releases its Progress Report on the 2020-2025 Community Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in Tucson and Throughout Pima County

    TPCH Releases its Progress Report on the 2020-2025 Community Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in Tucson and Throughout Pima County

     

    The Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness (TPCH) is committed to reducing and ultimately eliminating homelessness in our region. Ending homelessness in Pima County – which covers more than 9,000 square miles including urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal area – means ensuring that those who are experiencing a crisis of homelessness obtain safe and stable housing as quickly as possible and do not return to the homeless system. In 2020, CoC leadership and staff created the TPCH Strategic Plan, which articulated a strategic path to guide efforts as a CoC to achieve these goals. Shortly afterward, the world changed with the onset of COVID-19. COVID-19 drastically altered how TPCH and its partners interacted with each other and with the people the CoC serves. This document, the 2023 Progress Report on the 2020 TPCH Strategic Plan, gives the CoC, its TPCH board and the community a look at our progress 18 months through the plan’s timeline.

    Download the report at the link: TPCH 2023 Update to the Community Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in Tucson and Throughout Pima County

    The TPCH Strategic Plan advanced many goals from prior planning efforts to expand the permanent housing inventory, identify and lower barriers to system entry and housing, refine Coordinated Entry processes, increase systemwide data capacity, and incorporate a racial equity lens into system evaluation and improvement strategies. The Plan endeavors to ensure that all programs and interventions employed to address homelessness function together with a common set of objectives and performance measures targeted at achieving measurable change in Pima County communities – and that the system’s resources are being used to maximize impact the yield the greatest possible results. This document, the 2023 Progress Report on the 2020 TPCH Strategic Plan, revisits these goals and summarizes progress toward their fulfillment.

    We recognize that our coalition cannot end homelessness alone. The TPCH Strategic Plan centers the need for on-going and deeply embedded multi-sector partnerships to produce transformational change in our communities’ response to homelessness. It is founded on evidence-based practices and strategies in the field, focused on efforts that will yield the greatest possible results, and designed to provide the Continuum of Care and community leadership a framework for ending the crisis of homelessness in Pima County. As such, TPCH regularly monitors progress toward its goals and objectives, as it has done with the 2023 Progress Report on the TPCH Strategic Plan.

  • U of A Southwest Institute for Research on Women releases census updates to Housing Insecurity and Potential Homelessness Report

    U of A Southwest Institute for Research on Women releases census updates to Housing Insecurity and Potential Homelessness Report

    The University of Arizona Southwest Institute for Research on Women has released its most recent update to its report on Housing Insecurity Indicators and Potential Homelessness Estimates for Arizona and Pima County. This report measures current housing insecurity with newer census data.

    Download the report here.

    This most recent survey wave contains multiple pieces of concerning news.

    •  In the previous survey wave, collected September 20th-October 2nd 2023, the proportion of non-current renters in Arizona was 11.5%. In the most recent survey, conducted October 18th-30th 2023, this proportion fell modestly to 9.4%. While the proportion not current on rent payments decreased, the proportion of these non-current renters viewing eviction in the next two months as “very likely” increased to 19.9% (up from only 5% last survey wave).
    • In October of 2023 we observed the largest monthly count of eviction filings in Pima County since the onset of the pandemic with 1307 eviction filings. Eviction filings continue to increase despite the strong economy and the relative slowing of rent price increases over the past year
    • Housing insecurity among Arizona renters remains stubbornly high despite historically low unemployment. Rising rents and inflation are likely the central drivers of this disconnect, especially for households with limitations on their ability to benefit from the strong labor market.
    • Lower-income and BIPOC Arizona households remain disproportionately likely to report being not current on their rent payments and finding it very difficult to meet usual expenses. 39% of Black Arizonan heads of households reported finding it very difficult to meet usual expenses in the past week in this most recent survey. This situation was also reported by 25% of Hispanic or Latino heads of household in Arizona, and over 40% of households earning less than $25k a year (surveyed this wave).

    There is continuing good news to report on rents.

    • The positive macroeconomic situation has continued to hold steadily at both the national and state levels. The unemployment rate in Arizona, 4.0% in September, is a modest increase relative to a low of 3.4% this past May but remains well below historical averages.
    • Mortgage holders in Arizona continue to be in a strong financial position relative to renters. Only 6.3% reported being not current on mortgage payments (up modestly from a low of 3.5% in August of this year). However, among these non-current mortgage holders concern about the likelihood of foreclosure in the next two months is at the lowest levels observed in these surveys to date. Further good news is that since, roughly, February of 2023, counts of calls to 211 from Pima County indicate a substantial decrease in calls related to housing and shelter, utilities, and food requests between February and July.
    • In the fall of 2022 Tucson rent prices began decreasing on average, albeit very modestly. In the Spring of 2023 of rent prices in Tucson registered modest upticks in median/average rent prices. Despite these increases, seasonally adjusted metrics of Tucson rent prices increased only 3.3% between September 2022 and September 2023. This is a substantial slowdown in the rate of rental price increases we have seen in recent years. In addition, there is unambiguous good news in the rental vacancy rate, which has been trending upwards since the end of 2021, and hit an 8-year high in the 2nd quarter of 2023. On the other hand, only 47% of all Arizona respondents reported they had not experienced pressure to move in the last 6 months. 10% of Arizona households reported reducing or not paying expenses for basic household necessities (such as medicine or food) “almost every month” in the last 12 months in order to pay an energy bill. Only 50% of households reported “never” being in this situation.

    Download the report here.