Published on August 28, 2023
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The Arizona Department of Housing, in partnership with the Arizona Housing Coalition, concluded the 2023 Arizona Housing Forum on Friday, August 25, in Tucson by naming two of its Housing Heroes: Bread and Roses youth transitional housing and Habitat for Humanity's homebuilding construction. The Innovative Supportive Housing Program award went to Bread and Roses which opened last year a transitional housing facility in Tucson for LGBTQ+ youths in crisis. The center offers mental health counseling, and addiction treatment and job placement services. Nearly half the youth who come through the center find permanent housing on their own. The youth facility is managed by OPCS in partnership with Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation. It is a low barrier center based on Housing First principles. Since it opened last October, Bread and Roses has served 42 youth under the age of 25, most of whom had experienced domestic violence. This project is funded by the Tucson/Pima Continuum of Care. Habitat for Humanity received the Outstanding Affordable Housing Initiative for its Connie Hillman Urban Construction Knowledge Center, known as CHUCK. The center was recognized as an innovative homebuilding construction hub. Habitat for Humanity makes prefabricated exterior wall panels. The innovation improves home build times and provides student volunteers hands-on learning to acquire skills they need for a career in construction. The Arizona Housing Forum provides a platform for affordable housing professionals to learn, network, and connect in sharing ideas on how to solve our current housing shortage and create and improve housing development in Arizona.