Data-Driven Hocus-Pocus: The City of Mesa's Most Recent "Strategic Plan" To Do What? ADRESSING HOMELESSNESS

Better late than never at all . . . here we go again!   . . . . . one more "Happy Talk" Plan

Let's have A REALITY CHECK FIRST >

Working to develop more permanent supportive housing is the true answer.

Dateline: February 2016

24 February 2016

The Mayor's Own Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness > Keeping The Promise?

QUESTION: Will Mesa mayor John Giles "step up to the plate" to lead the team here to end veteran homelessness within one year according to the oath he took to join The Mayors Challenge?
No chance "to under-promise and over-deliver" on this - it's more than "we can" - it is swearing to an oath to finish the goal within one year and complete the criteria to get confirmation from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. The Mayor of New Orleans did just accomplished, as promised. - with No newspeak
As usual a lot of fanfare and skimpy details left out of Mesa Now press releases coming out of City Hall

    

City of Mesa announces Strategic Plan for Addressing Homelessness

March 24, 2021 at 12:45 pm

The City of Mesa today released its Strategic Plan for Addressing Homelessness, to help Mesa-based homeless recover and transition to stable housing during and after the COVID19 pandemic. Through the investment of federal funding, including funds from the CARES Act, Mesa will focus on supportive infrastructure and systematic steps, referred to as the Housing Path to Recovery.

Using a data-driven process and collaborative community partnerships within the region, Mesas plan endeavors to keep homelessness rare, brief and non-reoccurring.

"Mesa is a compassionate community, and this plan provides a balanced approach to support those most in need while also working toward community safety in public spaces, like our parks and libraries,"said Mesa Mayor John Giles. "This is a strong plan for Mesa."

"This plan includes the Citys Off the Streets program, which has successfully graduated 356 participants to longer-term housing since May 2020," said Councilmember Mark Freeman. "Im proud of this work by several city departments, including public safety."

"Mesas Strategic Plan for Addressing Homelessness is clear, comprehensive and adaptable," said Vice Mayor Jen Duff. "This will be a tremendous tool for Mesa residents and to City Council as we continue to address the growing needs for those experiencing homelessness."

Mesas Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness is available in its entirety on the City of Mesas website at: mesaaz.gov/homeless.

Contact:
Mayors Office
Contact: Casey Blake
Tel. (480) 644-3662
casey.blake@mesaaz.gov
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RELATED CONTENT ON THIS BLOG:

From December 2018

Homelessness: Just 'A Point In Time' or Lasting Solutions?

Now really, dear readers, how bogus can a count of The Homeless get when it's done once a year (at night)* by a group of volunteers and - at least here in Mesa putting the Police Department to tackle the problem smacks of Criminalizing the Homelessness.
At one point-in-time in a public meeting, District 1 Mesa City Councilmember Mark Freeman, ensconced comfortably in his own family compound-enclave, reacted to seeing the homeless on public transit as 'the awfulness'.
In one of the first reactions to the extension of lightrail service into downtown Mesa, city officials wanted a police bike patrol first of all.

Just recently your MesaZona blogger was told by one person attending a meeting of the Downtown Merchants Association about this year's Merry Main Street festivities that they wanted a bench removed from where the homeless were highly visible right directly across the street from The Mesa Christmas Market Place. Sure enough it was gone the next day! 
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Mesa mayor tells conference there are no homeless in city 

Source: https://www.josephvguzman.com/articles-page/

 

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17 September 2018

On The Agenda: Today's Mesa City Council Session

Map to the right are locations for unsheltered homeless:

Let's start off with saying that
ENGAGED RESIDENTS MAKE MORE EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT
Mesa Has A Problem

Many people here in Mesa might consider the homeless a nuisance.

That issue was addressed here in a report from Arizona Attorney Digital Mag
One of the major findings > Working to develop more permanent supportive housing is the true answer.*

Nuisance and Vagrancy Laws: The New Exclusionary Zoning    

BY MELISSA KOVACS & JOANNA LUCIO

This article describes the state of nuisance laws among Arizona municipalities and offers examples of California lawsuits as cautionary tales.
< What’s Going on in Arizona?

As shown in the table at left, out of six examined Arizona municipalities, all of them ban sleeping in public, and most of them ban begging in particular public places.

 

Often, economics and public safety are the justifications for passing such ordinances.

> Municipalities implement nuisance and vagrancy laws to address the public safety, economic development, and aesthetics of communities for business owners and residents.

Such laws are seen as solutions to problems. But they don’t advance the goal of reducing homelessness, and they often result simply in the displacement of individuals experiencing homelessness to other parts of the city or neighboring cities—which may have harmful effects on their well-being.

Moreover, ordinances directed at the homeless can result in local governments spending resources on legal defense of such legislation as well as consequences for businesses.

See this >

 

21 December 2020

The 2020 PIT Count was conducted on January 28, 2020.

City Staff "Talking Heads" Produce Another Scripted Summit

Before you watch this so-called "Summit", let's sum up some data in an infographic from January 2020 Point-In-Time Homeless Count that shows the scattered location distribution and concentration clusters in Maricopa County from the one-day results of counting both the sheltered and un-sheltered homeless: The map is for UNSHELTERED HOMELESS

Source: https://www.azmag.gov/Programs/Homelessness/Point-In-Time-Homeless-Count 

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Point-in-Time Count

The Point-in-Time (PIT) Homeless Count is an annual street and shelter count to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County during a given point in time. This count is part of a national effort to identify the extent of homelessness throughout the country. The count includes a brief survey to identify the needs of those experiencing homelessness in the community. MAG coordinates the PIT Count each year for the Maricopa Regional Continuum of Care. MAG serves as the hub of collaboration between the Continuum of Care and local communities. The 2020 PIT Count was conducted on January 28, 2020.

Please Note: There are a number posts on this blog for related content from prior years that will help readers assess if the city government - and its administrators - have produced positive outcomes or if the issues and numbers of the homeless population have increased over time. It's a reality-check no matter what they say all the time year-after-year. Obviously they are trying once again to manipulate the news - as you can see right from the start when District 4 City Council member Jennifer Duff has to correct the mayor directly that the homeless are not just visible downtown. . .

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