In this month’s newsletter, catch up on community insights and questions about the local housing crisis, upcoming financial empowerment workshops, opportunities to impact policy, 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?

At our August Network Meeting, we surveyed 19 meeting attendees representing nonprofits (primarily eviction prevention programs), academic institutions, credit unions, and themselves. This feedback was collected with a goal of informing advocacy and communication efforts related to housing in Tucson/Pima County. A few highlights:

What do you wish more people outside of our work understood about houselessness in Tucson/Pima? Most respondents mentioned wanting more people to understand the complexity of homelessness and to shift the narrative away from individual fault or choice. Others mentioned a desire for more empathy and compassion in the community and more understanding for themselves about the current efforts.

• “Homelessness is rooted in the lack of affordable housing, livable wages, education/training, and housing guidance, not individual weaknesses…. Anyone can become homeless in our community!” 
• “The people of our houseless community are humans too and deserve respect.”
• “The solutions are just as complex as the issue”

Where would you like to see more effort? What ideas do you have? The top request was increasing efforts to educate the community about homelessness, particularly the root and systemic causes behind it and initiatives currently underway by government and nonprofits. Low-barrier affordable housing, advocacy and policy work, prevention efforts, and alignment with food security, mental health, and substance use initiatives also received multiple mentions.

• “We need to educate community members on how homelessness occurs and break stereotypes.”
• “More effort to offer funding and housing that has few restrictions”
• “One idea: subsidizing wages and resources for essential but underpaid jobs, such as educators and positions filled by Americorps members”
• “Develop more community kitchens and bathrooms accessible to all”

What questions do you have about the unhoused/homeless response in our community? The top themes related to potential solutions and progress of projects underway. Other themes related to measurement, data interpretation insights, processes and policies, and prevention. For example:

• What is the police response?
• What is the capacity of Tucson to create affordable housing to help families stay in place?
• How can funding, policy and infrastructure support prevention efforts rather than being crisis driven and reactive?
• How are organizations / government / nonprofits collaborating to address this?

We look forward to sharing more and moving conversations forward with partners and stakeholders interested in the housing issue. Feel free to email financialwellnessteam@unitedwaytucson.org if you'd like to see the full report and discuss potential next steps.

At our October meeting, our Public Policy group checked in on projects/emerging ideas that we’ve been following, including a local group's recent visit to the Community First! Village in Austin, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Supreme Court case (and its potential implications for financial education work), and the affordable housing surplus fund ask to the Board of Supervisors, which may be reconsidered after GAP RFP applications are reviewed. We continue to support the Prosperity Initiative policy development process and also spent some time discussing potential statewide priorities with Children's Action Alliance that would align with the Governor's health and human service goals.

At our September Eviction Prevention Case Management meeting we were joined by staff from Pima County Community Action Agency who presented on the work they do and how it help serves the local community. Please check out their website for more information about different programs under their umbrella, eligibility, and how to access resources. Afterwards, the group shared about an upcoming training opportunity for nonprofit employees to become Housing Stability Legal Advocates. Please click here for more information.

At our September meeting, the Financial Empowerment Collaborative shared updates from local programs about new trainings, education, workshops, and events. We chatted in-person, enjoyed coffee and pastries, and discussed new financial education offerings for youth 6-17 (Primavera), financial coach trainings, a 'Setting Up Finance Systems' workshop from CIC, and upcoming feedback and best practice sessions with TPCH (Increasing Income for RRH and PSH participants - Thursday 10/19).

A Day in Ajo

After attending the Rural Policy Forum in early August, United Way's education, health, and financial wellness teams followed up with a quick trip to Ajo last month. Our visit gave us a chance to meet the new CEO of Desert Senita Health Center, Dr. Barbara, and hear about his plans to expand care and pharmacy services in Ajo. Our financial wellness partner International Sonoran Desert Alliance (ISDA), who currently works with us as a VITA site and emergency fund partner, also gave our team an excellent tour, touching on the history and planning design of the community. Special thanks to Freeport-McMoran for joining and helping to coordinate the visit – we look forward to moving projects related to older adults, entrepreneurship, and end of life care forward in Ajo!  

VITA Volunteer Recruitment - Happening Now!

Sign-ups for United Way of Tucson’s 2024 VITA Program are available now - click here to sign up 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 keep an eye out for our new VITA Social Media Toolkit very soon!

Eviction Prevention Case Manager Profile

At our Case Manager Mixers throughout the year we've been able to get to know some of our case managers a bit better. We are so grateful for the work they all do in the community, and we wanted to highlight who they are and what brought them to this work.

This month, we are happy to introduce you to Ana Camarillo (she/her/hers) who is a Pima County Resource Navigator!

Where are you from?

Sonora, Mexico

What drew you to your current job?

It feels rewarding to help people in need / times of crisis.

What do you like best about your job?

Connecting with the community, working with dedicated staff

Where is your favorite place to take visitors in Tucson?

Tohono Chul Park

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.

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