The Guest Agenda: State’s housing assistance program is far from perfect
Lots of red tape for a program meant to help people in crisis ... But there are a few things we can do ... Uhlich tapped as new council member.
We’ve spent the past two Tuesdays exploring the housing crisis in Pima County with guest pieces written by Lauren Kristine Taylor, a University of Arizona student and Poverty Policy Fellow (you can find the first and second parts here.) This week, we’re taking a look at the new Arizona housing program, the Arizona Rental Assistance Program.
Pima County families and households across the country were left scrambling to find support with October’s expiration of the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
In Arizona, officials responded quickly and launched the Arizona Rental Assistance Program on November 4. While the program is similar in both name and concept to ERAP, there are a few key differences.
The national program had eligibility requirements and the state’s program does, too. Applicants in ARAP must have proof of an unstable rental situation or financial instability, have at least one person under the age of 18 or over the age of 60 in their household and have a household income at or below 80% Area Median Income, which is around $65,000 for a family of four in Pima County.
If a household’s application is approved, they’ll be given a lump sum payment of three times their monthly rent (not to exceed $10,500).
And there’s one more thing: You’re automatically ineligible for ARAP if you already received help through ERAP, meaning this program is focused only on helping people who have not already received help.
Government funding is limited, so it’s understandable that there have to be limitations, but this one has left those already-helped families in free fall. And just because a family has previously received rental assistance, that doesn’t mean the household no longer needs help.
Students in Dr. Brian Mayer’s Poverty in Tucson Field Workshop through the University of Arizona collected data from around 300 Pima County residents this year who had already received ERAP and were unable to enroll in ARAP.
Many households were struggling to make ends meet and were angry about their situation, saying they felt betrayed by the system that had previously helped them. Some families were more sad than frustrated and worried that they would no longer be able to avoid eviction.
ARAP is already serving 113 households to the tune of more than $600,000. And that amount is growing each day.
It’s also important to note that there’s a supplementary program called Short-Term Crisis Services that provides temporary assistance to families in crisis situations.
But what about the long-term issues that short-term services can’t address?
It’s critical to acknowledge that poverty is cyclical and difficult to break out of, especially in areas like Tucson where there is limited job growth potential, higher rates of disabilities and other barriers to success. If we don’t address this issue now, it will persist in future generations and become that much more difficult to quell.
Programs like rental assistance can also help during poverty “spells” and prevent people from sinking into deep poverty. Research shows the shorter the period of time someone is in poverty, the easier it is to get out. Many families are doing the best they can with the cards they’ve been dealt and are limited in the opportunities available to them.
Addressing poverty also means actively looking for solutions. Financial assistance is hard to secure, as the government has limited funding opportunities, but there are a few things we can do.
One is keeping an eye on local landlords and creating a registry. In Arizona, there’s a legal requirement to maintain a rental registry, but it’s left to the counties to actually enforce this.
Pima County has not prioritized this, meaning there are no regulations or requirements to be a landlord. This creates an easily exploitable system for landlords to avoid fixing serious issues with their rentals, like broken air conditioners in 120-degree summers or black mold in walls. A registry would create a layer of protection for residents and create a bare-minimum housing standard that is key to keeping tenants safe and promoting sustainable housing options.
Another important way to help address poverty in Tucson is to engage the community. Projects like Mayer’s poverty workshop help gauge how the community is feeling about programs like ERAP and field ideas for solutions.
Increased community engagement is also associated with more effective programs and projects, like the No-tel Motel renovation. The City of Tucson purchased the infamous No-tel Motel and is converting it into the Milagro on Oracle, a block of low-income government housing.
The construction has moved quickly and will help support our community in the long term.
ERAP and ARAP are both important programs in Pima County’s development, and both have their pros and cons. But with local elections looming, we must understand just how important it is to support our community.
Rental assistance is a necessary intervention to help people manage the housing crisis and not end up homeless. It creates opportunities for settled families, lower crime rates and helps break the cycle of poverty.
We must encourage equitable access to these programs and urge our policy makers to prioritize inclusivity and sustainability in housing assistance initiatives.
Council picks replacement: The Tucson City Council appointed Karin Uhlich as the newest member of the council. They held a vote at a special meeting Monday evening and picked Uhlich to replace former Councilman Steve Kozachik in Ward 6. Uhlich, who is a former council member herself, will serve on the council for the remainder of Kozachik’s term, which expires at the end of next year.
Should be entertaining: The Arizona Bowl has a new title sponsor, Grammy Award-winning hip-hop star Snoop Dogg, and the new presenting sponsor is his beverage line, Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop, Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports. The college football bowl game held in Tucson is one of only a handful in the country that’s not owned or televised on ESPN, so it has the flexibility to get sponsors that are a little less traditional. The bowl is a nonprofit and it will host youth teams from California and Arizona in the “Snooper Bowl.” Snoop Dogg could be part of the in-game broadcast, too.
Movies coming back: Movie producers are filming in places like midtown Tucson and Arivaca, thanks in part to new state tax incentives, KVOA’s Eric Fink reports. The state put in place up to $100 million in incentives for this year, which helps out movies on a shoestring budget, like the sci-fi flick Fink visited while reporting the story.
Hard to take time off: Some teachers in Sunnyside Unified School District have accrued hundreds of hours of paid time off, and that’s causing a headache for district officials, Arizona Sonoran News’ Refugio Del Cid reports. The district has to pay a substitute teacher when the regular teacher takes time off, which could cost the district a lot of money. For example, the district would have to spend nearly $40,000 if two Desert View High School teachers who’ve accrued hundreds of hours of paid time off used all their PTO. The district is trying to figure out their options, like buyback or payout programs.
Inching forward: Budget negotiations are grinding on at the state Capitol, with the added twist that lawmakers’ per diem payments are going to be cut in half on Wednesday to spur them to wrap up their business, Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer reports. As for the negotiations, legislators and Gov. Katie Hobbs are sorting through an expected $1.3 billion deficit. Hobbs built her budget with the idea that universal school vouchers would be rolled back, which hasn’t happened. She said last month she was waiting for new revenue projections, while Republican leaders of the two legislative chambers said they were ready to start negotiating in December.
Bad test results: The wild foxes that bit a staff member at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum last week had rabies, the Arizona Daily Star reports. The foxes were trapped and tested. Luckily, the bite didn’t penetrate the staff member’s skin and they had been vaccinated for rabies. It was the fourth local fox attack since December.
21: The percentage of people experiencing homelessness on the night of January 24, 2023 who were over the age of 55, according to the 2023 Point in Time Count Report of Persons Experiencing Homelessness.