“Every delay means there’s folks that don’t have a place to sleep more permanently,” Valley Interfaith Project (VIP)'s Rev. Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan told Arizona’s Family.
After an old hotel was set to become transitional housing for seniors, families, and domestic violence victims, Mesa City Council took the final vote off the council agenda with no explanation why. The move pushes the decision to February, delaying the opening by about two months.
“‘The work that we’re doing on housing right now matters, and the slower we do it, the more the backlog grows,’ said Rev. Oglesby-Dunegan.
She said her congregation hosts people overnight seven times a month as part of a homeless outreach, an increase from four times a month previously.
‘There’s been long wait lists for decades,’ Dunnigan said. ‘The need for transitional housing and opportunities in between that may be longer term housing is really high.’...
‘To have spent that money to be close to it being finished to then say, ‘Wait — we’re going to see what’s happening...’ that’s really disappointing to us,’ said Barbara Quijada with VIP.”
VIP will continue fighting for emergency housing options for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Mesa Transitional Housing Project Faces Delays as Council Postpones Final Vote, Arizona's Family [pdf] [video]
Advocates for Transitional Housing Project in Mesa Push for Completion, ABC15 Arizona [pdf] [video]