The Guest Agenda: How to prevent a wave of evictions from slamming Pima County

Covid changed the narrative … Now what? … Cochise County election case gets into nitty-gritty.

This is the first in a three-part series about the housing crisis in Pima County written by Lauren Kristine Taylor, a University of Arizona student and Poverty Policy Fellow. Lauren is a junior studying Public Health and Care, Health and Society and has spent the semester working to address gaps in low-income housing issues within Pima County through advocacy and policy research.

What would you do if you were evicted tomorrow? Who would you go to for help? What local housing resources could you use? 

Questions like this might seem rhetorical, but they’re a genuine fear in the minds of many Pima County residents, with almost 40% of Arizona renters saying they believe it’s likely they’ll be evicted in the next two months.

Until last October, people who were worried about affording rent could lean on government housing support through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, or ERAP. But when this program came to a close, many residents were left in free-fall, scrambling to keep a roof over their heads.

COVID marked a turning point in the conversation around housing assistance, since keeping people in their homes became a matter of public health. The pandemic spurred the creation of programs like ERAP, which brought eviction rates to an all-time low, and the implementation of the Child Tax Credit, which helped reduce child poverty in Pima County.

But with ERAP no longer an option, many Tucsonans are left trying to make ends meet so they can stay in their homes. And with median rent costs around $1,650 a month — not including utilities — it has become easy for families to spend more than the expected 30% of their income on housing costs, a financial situation called “housing cost burdened.”

This means less money for other necessities like childcare, food, and internet. In 2022, nearly one-third of Pima County households were housing cost burdened. The main way to combat this issue is affordable housing measures to help keep costs low.

Low-income housing as a concept goes all the way back to 1937, with the U.S. Housing Act (a part of the New Deal), which was passed to help create safe and affordable homes for lower income individuals in the United States.

Unfortunately (like many programs in the U.S.), this program was quickly plagued by racist undertones and used to help segregate neighborhoods based on skin color and socioeconomic status, a concept that is now referred to as redlining.

On the plus side, this policy did create public housing agencies, which are still used to help connect low-income individuals to housing resources — although those public housing departments are swamped with thousands of requests, despite their best efforts. 

Some may argue that people who cannot afford housing are just not trying hard enough, but that’s flawed logic. It’s not a lack of work ethic, but rather a lack of income growth potential and job opportunities. Being born in Pima County automatically puts individuals in worse financial situations than being born elsewhere.

According to the 2022 census, the national median household income was $74,580, compared to $64,323 in Pima County — a difference of over $10,000 dollars per year. Moreover, Pima County exhibits higher disability rates, lower high school graduation rates, and a larger uninsured population compared to the national average.

Rarely will someone say they don’t support low-income housing measures in their community. It’s not hard to convince people that this is an issue that needs to be addressed.

The real issue is a concept called “NIMBYism,” which stands for “Not in My Backyard”, and loosely translates to “please keep affordable housing away from my side of town.”

Experts say this concept is a dangerous idea that allows people to hide behind a sense of self-righteousness without actually doing anything to help the struggling populations. This thought pattern encourages a geographic concentration of poverty that has several negative consequences, including limited access to resources (like quality education, medical care, or even just grocery stores with more nutritional options), an increase in illnesses, and limited economic growth potential.

It might seem like affordable housing initiatives lead to decreased property values, but research suggests that well-designed affordable housing developments can actually enhance property values and contribute positively to neighborhood revitalization.

When implemented thoughtfully, affordable housing projects can attract investment, promote economic diversity, and create vibrant, inclusive communities. Additionally, affordable housing policies often include safeguards to ensure that developments are integrated into existing neighborhoods while still being compatible with local character and preferences.

Maricopa County is going through one of the worst housing crises in its history, with a massive spike in evictions this year — around 8,000 in just one month. Although this isn’t yet the case in Pima County, it’s still concerning, since Maricopa County is often an indicator for what will happen in Pima County’s future. 

So, what now? Although COVID was a devastating part of our history, one of the few bright spots was a shift in the housing narrative and the creation of programs designed to help people stay in their homes and address generational poverty.

We may not know what will happen next, but for now, these policies can teach us valuable lessons for the future.

Next Tuesday, Lauren will explore the impact of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program in Pima County.

All signed up: The slate of candidates for three open seats on the Oro Valley Town Council is set, Tucson Local Media’s Dave Perry reports. The four candidates are Mary Murphy, Elizabeth Robb, and Council members Tim Bohen and Dr. Harry “Mo” Greene II. Council member Steve Solomon decided not to run for re-election. The elections are nonpartisan and will be decided on July 30. 

Getting into it: The legal case against two Cochise County supervisors is getting into the nitty-gritty of what it means to interfere with an election. Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd argued before a state judge that they shouldn’t have been indicted last year for delaying the certification of the 2022 election results, Courthouse News’ Joe Duhownik reports. They say the election results eventually were certified, and that they have legislative immunity. Prosecutors say state officials had to take steps to push them to certify the election, and that certifying election results is a ministerial, not legislative, duty.  

Public welcome: The Arizona Board of Regents are looking for a replacement for University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins and they want input from the public in Tucson, the Arizona Luminaria’s John Washington reports. The regents are holding a town hall on Wednesday from 5:30-7 p.m. at 1064 E. Lowell St, which is the Environmental and Natural Resources 2 Building. 

Abortion vote on the horizon: A Republican state representative says there could be a successful vote to repeal the 1864 abortion ban as early as Wednesday, KJZZ’s Camryn Sanchez reports. Rep. David Cook said enough Republican legislators in the state House are willing to join Democrats to support the repeal bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, a Democrat from Tucson. 

Time for a change: After a scandal-plagued year, the Humane Society of Southern Arizona has a new CEO, KGUN’s Mikenzie Hammel reports. Kristin Barney will take the reins next month. Former CEO Steve Farley was fired when more than 250 small animals went missing after they were transported from San Diego to Tucson. Barney used to head the Pima Animal Care Center and was senior director of programs at Best Friends Animal Society. 

No word yet: The jury was deadlocked in the trial of a Nogales rancher accused of shooting a Mexican man as he crossed the rancher’s property, the Arizona Republic’s Sarah Lapidus reports. Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink asked them to keep deliberating on Friday. Prosecutors said George Alan Kelly, 75, shot and killed Gabriel Cuen Buitimea near the border with Mexico.

7: The percentage of Arizona households that reported reducing or not paying for basic household necessities almost every month for the last year in order to pay an energy bill, according to the Southwest Institute for Research on Women’s most recent Housing Insecurity and Homelessness Report.