Nicole Ludden A group of business owners and concerned citizens has been trying to convince local leaders that the homeless problem in Tucson is a serious threat to their livelihoods and public safety, and that immediate action to find solutions is needed.
Steve Juhan, president of the Grant Road Industrial Center Owner's Association that represents about 20 property owners, said he’s dealt with vandalism of two air-conditioning units that cost him $25,000 in damage, while other businesses in the center have had to pay for other repairs to their buildings because of vandalism they say is being caused by a growing homeless population.
County leadership has also been working with the city to come up with ways to address homelessness for months — but the expansion of pretrial services is the first substantive, though uncertain, response. DeBoskie said he’s had to sleep at the gym at times to prevent vandalism, which has included attempted break-ins with crowbars and graffiti on the building."Our numbers have dwindled because of this,” which has “hurt us for having to pay this lease," he said.
In August, Brewster Nguyen said, Mayor Regina Romero, Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz — whose Ward 1 contains Estevan Park — and other city staff met with the Splinter Collective at the park to negotiate conditions at the encampment. While the partnership is in its nascent stages, the Splinter Collective has identified park managers to clean up litter, maintain the park’s restrooms and ensure playground equipment is clean, according to the city.
Jacobsen said the Goldwater Institute intends to continue working with the coalition, and “hopes that the city comes along so that, frankly, we don't have to file a lawsuit against the city.” There’s a variety of reasons the homelessness crisis has reached the level Tucson is seeing, Vasquez said. The pervasiveness of substance abuse — compounded by the fentanyl crisis — pandemic-induced evictions and a lack of available government aid to meet the demand, all play a role. The focus when working with businesses, however, is centered on the criminal activity the city finds when working with unsheltered communities.
As of Nov. 22, the city has cleared out 52 encampments by relocating or “identifying shelter/housing for occupants,” cleaned up 146 sites that “do not pose health or safety risks,” and cleaned 55 sites with no current occupants, according to Thomure’s report. Supervisor Steve Christy has also expressed support for the dual path of treatment or incarceration, but Lesher said current considerations for a triage and probation facility are still being discussed.
The motion the board approved Nov. 15 also stated, “anyone who violates laws in place to protect public health and safety should be arrested and prosecuted. Anything that prevents the enforcement of our laws should be identified and removed,” and told county administration to work with other criminal justice agencies to do so.
The sad part of this is that our Mayor, TucsonRomero , doesn't think there's a problem. She didn't mention this at all at her recent gala event where she announced she's running again. Honestly, she should be embarrassed. We need better leadership!
Getting police to harass homeless people so they won't scare your customers is an unsustainable strategy doomed to fail. It didn't work in Phoenix and it won't work in Tucson. These people are misinformed if not evil, and I will boycott each and every one of them.
Not a Law Enforcement issue…… funds have be reallocated from the PD to various social service programs to address this issue. . Where is the investigative journalism into where those funds went, how they were spent….. AND the performance/results
The crisis may get much worse when the COVID era ban on illegal immigration ends. A local news show says Tucson can expect upwards of 800 undocumented immigrants each day. Clueless local / county governments & Senators Sinema and Kelly have done nothing to stop this for years.