Homeless outreach workers and aligned service providers from multiple community agencies, including the City of Tucson’s Housing and Community Development (HCD) in partnership with the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness (TPCH), have come together to engage with individuals encamped and living in the 100-Acre Wood Bike Park, located east of South Alvernon Way, west of North Swan Road and south of Roberts Neighborhood.
This amplified outreach and engagement effort, part of the ongoing encampment work of the TPCH Unsheltered Initiative and building upon what has been continuous outreach at this location conducted by the City of Tucson and its community partners, began on July 7 and is essential to prepare for the upcoming planned construction improvements at the park.
Construction is expected to begin in late October of this year, and the park will be closed with some areas fenced off for the duration of the construction. The goal of this effort is to connect community members experiencing unsheltered homelessness with supportive services and housing. Outreach to individuals living in the camp will continue throughout the summer and into the fall before construction begins.
The City of Tucson, in partnership with OPCS and CBI, is providing permanent housing combined with case management services to move households into units directly from the encampment. Since outreach began last week, HCD staff have connected and started service coordination with 53 individuals living in 100-Acre Wood Bike Park.
The City of Tucson, through the policy guidance and direction of the Mayor and Council, is fully committed to a compassionate and coordinated approach to encampment response—one that prioritizes both public health and the dignity of community members experiencing homelessness. The work conducted at 100-Acre Wood Bike Park is meant to be a model of what is possible when interagency collaboration and consistent community engagement are aligned toward a shared goal.
Outreach workers assist with obtaining vital documents such as identification cards, birth certificates, Social Security cards. Outreach workers also provide on-the-spot medical care and assist people with resolving diverse legal obstacles. This work will reduce the barriers to housing faced by the individuals encamped in the 100-Acre Wood Bike Park.
This latest outreach led by TPCH and funded by the HUD Continuum of Care Program, is complemented by the collaborative work of City of Tucson, Pima County, and community non-profit agencies: Community Bridges, Inc.(CBI), Old Pueblo Community Services (OPCS), El Rio Community Clinic, Community Medical Services, La Frontera, Catholic Community Services, Hope Incorporated, Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, The Haven, Primavera Foundation, and the Homeless ID Project.
The Tucson Police Department is providing a mobile command unit to provide workspace for agency staff, however the police are not staffing this collaborative effort nor conducting any enforcement.
For the privacy of clients being served, the media is asked to reach out to the City of Tucson prior to coverage. Media agencies are requested to contact Andy Squire, City of Tucson Public Information Officer, at 520-306-0080 or Ernesto Portillo, HCD Public Information Officer, at 520-403-5709. Arrangements can be made for interviews with City of Tucson staff, Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness, and representatives from non-profit agencies participating in the outreach effort.
Parks and Recreation will hold a public information session on the plan for 100-Acre Bike Park on Thursday, July 24, from 5 to 6:30 PM at Parks Administration, Mesquite Room, 900 S. Randolph Way. Representatives from various City of Tucson departments will be present to help answer questions.
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The 100-Acre Wood Bike Park is a collaboration among the Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists (SDMB), the City of Tucson, Arizona State Parks and Trails, the Trek Foundation, and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The City of Tucson has a lease agreement with the federal government, which owns the vacant land, allowing the City of Tucson’s Parks and Recreation Department to operate and develop the 100-Acre Wood Bike Park.