HCD RELEASES 2022 ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTING MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND GOALS
The City of Tucson's Department of Housing and Community Development today released its 2022 Annual Report, highlighting its major accomplishments from the past year and setting goals for 2023.
"As our department employees and community emerged from the pandemic, we re-committed to addressing the issues that came before, and were exacerbated during the worldwide health crisis," HCD Director Liz Morales wrote in the annual report.
The report, found here, includes the department's progress on addressing homelessness, aiding low-income homeowners, creating a new Thrive Zone, and establishing a new City non-profit affordable housing development arm. More than $11 million were issued through HCD's Planning and Community Development division to nonprofit community partners in 2022 to provide services to Tucson's low-income residents. In addition, federal community development funds were invested in home rehab, lead reduction, down payment assistance, and improvements to community facilities.
While the ongoing Thrive in the 05 Zone was seeing fruit with progress toward various neighborhood "Action Activities," HCD welcomed a second Thrive Zone along the East 29th Street corridor. Residents and stakeholders in the new zone, bordered by Alvernon Way, 22nd Street, Craycroft Road and Golf Links, will engage in a collaborative planning process to create a community-driven vision for the neighborhood and invest $1.3 million in improvement projects.
In the area of expanded homeless services, the City's Housing First program served 1,598 people in 2022, primarily through the purchase of the Wildcat Inn on North Oracle to serve as a transitional shelter. Housing First gives immediate housing to people experiencing homelessness and provides other services. Tucson Mayor and Council committed more than $1.5 million of federal relief funding to support the Housing First program and transitional shelters. An additional $1.5 million was committed to low barrier congregate shelters.
HCD Director Morales said, "Our Mayor and Council have driven HCD's expanding efforts to create more housing opportunities for our most vulnerable residents. Here at HCD, we are excited about new initiatives and ideas that we, along with our community partners and residents, will develop and put into action."
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