In recent years, there has been a perceived increase in homelessness in Apache Junction. The 2017 Point in Time (PIT) count tallied 43 sheltered or unsheltered homeless individuals in the city on a single night in January. Apache Junction’s services for such individuals are limited and divided by county lines that bisect the city. Further, when the GenesisProject—a nonprofit that provides free food—moved to Apache Junction’sdowntown, some nearby businesses were worried the presence of homeless people would deter customers.
The Apache Junction Empowerment Group was formed in 2015 and the Chronic Homeless Subcommittee in 2016 to work toward addressing and preventing homelessness in Apache Junction. Despite the contributions of these two groups, the city is still grasping to understand how the public perceives homelessness and what services are needed by its homeless population and those at risk of homelessness. In the fall of 2017, the PUP 571 Socio-economic Planning and PAF 509 Public Affairs Capstone courses enlisted in Arizona State University’s Project Cities program to help Apache Junction comprehend these issues and make decisions about what to do next. The students in PUP 571 looked outward for insight, researching peer communities around the United States with similarities to Apache Junction and interviewing their leadership about successful strategies for addressing homelessness.
Students in this course looked to peer communities around the country for best practices for addressing homelessness. To choose communities, they searched for those with characteristics like climate, population, and an unemployment rate that were similar to those of Apache Junction, as well as communities making promising strides, which they then vetted with Apache Junction staff to determine which seemed most promising. From interviews with leaders in the selected peer communities, their findings indicated that successful strategies make use of federal programs and funding, encourage collaboration and data sharing, involve the community, locate services prudently, and educate law enforcement.