This petition is in SUPPORT of the proposed sanctioned encampment, STAR Village, in Ward 3 of the City of Tucson.

It can be incredibly difficult to implement compassionate solutions to homelessness due to many high barriers. Progress is often incremental, but each small step is meaningful. STAR Village IS PROGRESS. 
Solutions like small-scale sanctioned encampments uplift the whole community by helping its most vulnerable. This encampment pilot has 25 spaces, but because it is a transitional program this means it can help far more than 25 people on their path to housing. It is not an open-door, walk-in center, so it will not attract high volume of foot traffic by the unhoused. This first Village will serve women and non-binary adults, an extremely vulnerable population who faces difficult safety challenges on the streets.

STAR Village is based on models that are proven successful in Phoenix and elsewhere. The 25 individuals accepted into STAR Village can get services, assistance, safety, and care that they will not otherwise receive living in washes, alleys, parks, or parking lots of businesses. Once someone transitions to more stable housing from STAR, another person can get the help they need in the Village. 

If housed residents around the Village are worried about the visibility of their houseless neighbors in STAR Village, they should rest assured that STAR residents are transitioning out of homelessness, reducing the overall number of homeless individuals on the streets. It is unfortunate the City was not proactive in sharing this plan with the direct neighbors. This lack of transparency by the City of Tucson can do lasting harm, but the future residents of STAR should not be the ones to suffer for the City's missteps.

Transitional shelters like STAR Village are just one small piece in the puzzle of housing solutions. In the current landscape, the solutions to lift people off the street are sadly inadequate. Still, increasing capacity of transitional shelter and other solutions is incredibly important. Though housing first solutions are the most desirable, these are not always within reach of local housing programs due to cost, inventory restraints, or even local policy. 

The time to take action is past due, and the STAR Village will be a benefit. The unhoused are our neighbors and Tucson residents as well, and they deserve a safe place even if the best we can do for them right now is a tent and a safe place to keep it (STAR will also have rotating service provision!). Consider the needs of the whole community, and the safety of all Tucson residents, and please sign in support of STAR Village.