In a 4-1 vote, the Pima County Board of Supervisors approved $5 million for nine affordable housing projects and reviewed progress on homelessness efforts under the county’s One Pima Initiative.

During the Feb. 17 meeting, county officials highlighted new substance abuse treatment programs, housing stabilization strategies and early data from a recently opened sobering center as part of a broader effort to strengthen public health and expand services for vulnerable residents.

These efforts are part of the county’s One Pima Initiative, a two-year plan approved by the board in December 2023. Three of the five key priorities outlined in the initiative are strengthening public health, expanding treatment efforts and stabilizing housing to prevent homelessness.

To that end, the county established the Office of Housing Opportunities and Homeless Solutions in 2023. The office is responsible for maintaining an inventory of at-risk populations, outlining the homeless response and care system, and tracking the efficiency of county assistance programs.

Director Jen Darland told the board that county staff are continuing countywide overdose prevention programming and preparing heat planning and cooling center coordination for the summer. They are also exploring the possibility of expanding coverage in the future for people in early and long-term recovery.

Pima County launched the Sobering Alternative to Recovery Center on New Year’s Day. It operates on a voluntary, low-barrier basis and acts as a law enforcement diversion endpoint.

The SAFR Center reported five patient referrals in the week of Jan. 18 to Jan. 24, with an average stay of two-and-a-half days, and 33 patient referrals during the week of Jan. 25 to Jan. 31, with an average stay of 26 hours.

Darland said the SAFR Center may help stabilize individuals but does not consistently connect them to ongoing treatment, limiting its long-term impact on overdose prevention.

“Long story short here is that we started out with very few patients taking advantage of that,” Darland said. “As we know, recovery is a tough business, right? It's just hard for people to do that.”

The suggested next step is improved data analysis, including examining referral types in relation to length of stay at the center, Darland said.

“This board adopted this plan to have a holistic approach to better coordination with our government's partners in the nonprofit and private sector, and we are really at the beginning of this two-year commitment,” said District 5 Supervisor Andrés Cano. “I want to ensure that, related to the safer center, we are getting access to timely information with CBI. We are spending a lot of money in a short amount of time and we were missing two reports today. I have full confidence that we are doing incredible work there.”

Following the presentation, the board approved $5 million in gap funding for nine affordable housing projects that received the highest scores from county staff. The funding was awarded based on recommendations by the Pima County Regional Housing Association.

District 4 Supervisor Steve Christy, the board’s sole Republican, cast the lone dissenting vote.

The goal of these projects is to increase the supply of affordable housing and, in turn, improve housing stability. The funding follows the board’s approval of $8.5 million in gap funding for fiscal year 2025-26, with this $5 million designated for development and preservation. This round also adds a transitional housing category and increases scoring criteria for tribal entities.

The vote awards gap funding for the nine highest-scoring projects as follows:

• $1 million to COPE Community Services for the Shasta Apartments project
• $500,000 to the Tohono O'odham Nation Housing Authority for the San Isidro Subdivision
• $500,000 to El Pueblo Housing Development for the Main and Davis project
• $500,000 to El Pueblo Housing Development for the Stone and Speedway project
• $500,000 to Mercy Housing Mountain Plains for the Limberlost Family Flats project
• $500,000 to Spire Development Inc. for the Drexel Commons project
• $500,000 to El Pueblo Housing Development for the Craycraft Towers and Lee Street Duplexes project
• $500,000 to Old Pueblo Community Services for the OPCS Veterans Center project
• $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity for the Mountain View Development project

Ian Stash is a journalism major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact him at istash@arizona.edu.

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