Happy Holidays! In this month’s newsletter, learn about our recent Network meeting with City-County staff working on unsheltered response, celebrate the Prosperity Initiative adoption, explore new resources flagged by our practitioner partners, and more!

United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona's Financial Wellness Partnership envisions a community where every person and family is financially well - asking five questions:

• Can a household cover their basic needs?

• Do they have savings for emergencies, retirement, and education?

• Can they make informed financial decisions for themselves and their families by using financial skills?

• Can they pursue wealth-building opportunities such as homeownership, entrepreneurship, or further education?

• Do they have a voice in civic and community resource decisions, particularly funding and policies?

Thanks to all who joined us for an amazing conversation at our November Network Meeting! To start, we hosted Brandi Champion (City of Tucson Housing First Director), Elaine MacPherson (City of Tucson Homeless System Improvement Project Supervisor), and Mari Vasquez (City of Tucson Multi-Agency Resource Coordinator) for an overview of some efforts underway with the City, County, and TPCH. They helped us respond to the requests and questions from our August meeting survey (info from that survey here). They also shared information regarding which city and county departments are now working together as part of the Regional Unsheltered Resource Coalition and clarified projects under the Housing First umbrella – ex. Justice Services Transition Center, the Multi-Disciplinary Outreach Team (to offer health services and more alongside outreach), the HEART team (ongoing support after housing placement), mobile shower unit, etc.

Keep an eye out for an update on the second part of our November Network meeting with the Eviction Prevention Case Manager panel in the January newsletter!

Our Public Policy group continued following the Prosperity Initiative policy development and showed our support at the December 5th Board of Supervisors meeting with member attendance and a public comment from United Way of Tucson and Southern AZ Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Arika Wells. We were so pleased to see the Prosperity Initiative be adopted by the Board of Supervisors! For more about the project, you can read the County's adoption update, watch the meeting recording (Prosperity Initiative presentation starts around 1:41:00), and see the letter submitted by United Way of Tucson's CEO Tony Penn on behalf of our Financial Wellness Partnership.

And a big thank you to District 5 staff, who joined us for our Public Policy Meeting the next day to debrief with our group! We discussed ideas for staying engaged with the plan's implementation phase and how to keep our collaborative momentum going into the new year.

We had great November meeting for Eviction Prevention Case Management group! We were joined by researchers from University of Arizona SIROW. who shared insights from their recent Homeless Needs Assessment. This project utilized lived experience researchers, and the group reflected on how to incorporate insights their day-to-day work. An example was asking clients what resources have worked well for them and utilizing client experiences to vet other referrals, as well as encouraging case managers to meet people where they are when working with them.

A few resources of note shared in the meeting included the new Arizona Rental Assistance Program from DES - note that it has different limitations than ERAP – and Cricket phones from the Affordable Connectivity Program.

At our November meeting, the Financial Empowerment Collaborative shared updates about work in the community - from local events to free workshops. We discussed trends predicted for the new year and ways to adjust marketing for our group's programs. The group members shared one thing we wish people knew about, ranging from people mentioning the financial education offerings at FHR and TFCU (you don’t need to be a member to use them), upcoming children’s holiday toy events (Jennifer mentioned one on 12/23 with GATE Ministries), great low-cost small business workshops from CIC, a new housing navigator starting soon at FHR, a public talk on Tuesday 12/12 with Matthew Desmond on his book “Poverty, by America” (a good podcast episode about the book here), and the HUD Housing Central Command effort underway in Tucson/Pima County.

And also - save the date for Your Financial Future Fair on Saturday 1/27, an event that we are putting together with Chase, Family Housing Resources, Primavera Foundation, and other community partners... full info and flyer coming soon!

Equitable Economic Mobility at Tucson House

United Way’s Financial Wellness team was proud to collaborate with various City of Tucson departments on a National League of Cities (NLC) pilot project exploring equitable economic mobility at Tucson House over the past year. In October, NLC staff and city leaders from Charleston and Sacramento visited Tucson to learn more about our collaborative’s innovative economic mobility work. The whirlwind two day visit included conversation and field trips related to Thrive in the 05, resident ambassador pilots, day labor and job training initiatives, small business support, innovative strategies like trauma-informed financial empowerment and the Direct Care Workforce Resource, and more. The City of Tucson plans to incorporate best practices from the pilot into longer-term efforts at Tucson House and the surrounding area with support from their new $50m HUD Choice Neighborhoods grant.

VITA Volunteer Recruitment - Happening Now!

Tax season is right around the corner. Don’t miss out, click here to sign up for the United Way of Tucson's 2024 VITA Program today! Each year, United Way recruits and trains 150+ IRS VITA-certified volunteers to provide FREE tax preparation services to thousands of households throughout Pima County, and with your help we can have an even bigger impact next year. Please help us spread the word about this unique and deeply rewarding volunteer experience by sharing our digital flyer (see below in the flyer section) and check out our new VITA Social Media Toolkit for helpful messaging and images to share with your network!

United Way Tucson Financial Wellness Resource List: Find programmatic and 1:1 opportunities for financial coaching/education, tax assistance, workforce development, and more on this list developed by United Way of Tucson and Southern AZ partners. You can share this list with others and access via the United Way website through our Financial Wellness Community Resources page. If you are involved with a program, service, or other resource supporting financial wellness in Southern Arizona, we would love to add you to the list. If you are already on our list, we would love for you to review your entry and make sure it is up to date. Want to add or update your program's entry? Use this form.

Youth on the Rise Re-Engagement App: A resource guide to help youth 16-24 navigate services, resources, and systems in Pima County.

Resource Highlight



Many of you are already familiar with the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness website, but in case you aren't, we wanted to highlight this resource that may be useful to you or someone you know in the future. The TPCH website has a Get Help Now section that has a list of shelter beds available, as well as a list of local organizations who can help individuals complete housing assessments. Even if you don't think you will have to use this resource, we encourage you to check it out - part of understanding the complex issue of housing is understanding how complex the solutions are. Exploring the systems that individuals in crisis have to navigate can help those who have not experienced housing insecurity or crisis understand the process a bit more. Check out the TPCH website's resource page here for more info.

Additional Information

HCD Home Owner Rehab Programs - HCD home owner rehabilitation programs are seeking applicants to their programs! There are fact sheets for each program and people can apply for each program directly using this link.

What Tenants Need to Know During COVID-19 – Robust list including rental assistance, eviction protection/moratorium, and legal assistance resources compiled by Pima County.

How Can Rent Reporting Benefit Your Credit? - Rent reporting can help renters build credit without having to take on any debt. Learn more at the link!

FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance: To help ease the financial stress caused by the virus, FEMA is helping pay for COVID-19- related funeral expenses. Individuals can receive up to $9,000. To start an application, individuals must first call the FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Helpline: 844-684-6333. Multiple languages are available. The phone line is open Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm E.T.

TucsonEvictionHelp.org: This tool from TPCH can help individuals and families check their eligibility for homelessness prevention funds, which may be available in certain situations - such as when a family is paying to stay at a hotel but running out of funds, or being forced to leave a housing situation where they are doubled up.

Arizona Homeowner Assistance Fund: The HAF program provides help for homeowners who have experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19 after January 21st, 2020. Homeowners can use HAF funds for the purpose of preventing the following: homeowner mortgage delinquencies, homeowner mortgage defaults, homeowner mortgage foreclosures, homeowner loss of utilities or home energy services, and displacements of homeowners experiencing financial hardship.

Health Benefits: AHCCCS is taking steps to ensure that all eligible Arizonans can stay covered as the federal government ends the national public health emergency. Visit the AHCCCS page to check steps that can ensure members do not experience gaps in coverage.

SingleCare Affordable Prescriptions: United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona partners with SingleCare to provide community members with access to affordable prescription medications. The SingleCare prescription savings card is always free to use by everyone and has no registration or eligibility requirements - it can be used right away. Once signed up, a member just needs to show the savings card to their pharmacist when they fill a prescription at a participating pharmacy. The discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)- The ACP is an FCC benefit (formerly Emergency Broadband Benefit) that helps ensure households can afford the broadband they require for work, healthcare and to stay connected. The ACP provides eligible low-income households a credit up to $30 a month toward the cost of Internet service ($75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands). Participants in the program can apply the ACP credit toward the cost of participating plans from a variety of Internet service providers, as well as mobile services.

• Locally, Comcast is one participating provider. Households that choose plans that cost $30/month or less will essentially receive their service for free - learn more about Comcast's program here. 

Pima County Housing Search - Searchable database of affordable rental housing, supported by Pima County

AZ Eviction Help - Information about eviction processes, tenant rights, and resources for rental assistance, utility assistance, legal assistance compiled by the Arizona Bar Association

Order Free COVID-19 Tests: Go to COVIDTests.gov, to order four tests per household. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days and will begin shipping later this month.

COVID-19 Vaccination Sites - Accessibility and Accommodation Resources for People with Disabilities: Information from the Arizona Center for Disability Law

AZDHS COVID-19 Website – Latest updates, closure and re-opening announcements, and data dashboard