SVdP will rehouse 2,025 people experiencing homelessness by 2025
Recently, a federal report estimated more than 13,000 people experiencing homelessness in Arizona. In response, SVdP has set an ambitious goal to move 2,025 people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing by the year 2025. The nonprofit calls this goal its ‘Housing 2025’ initiative.
“St. Vincent de Paul has the heart, skill, and a sense of urgency to step up when it’s needed most and serve the community in the moment as needed, especially in crisis,” said Shannon Clancy, SVdP’s Rob and Melani Walton Endowed CEO. “As we go about our lives, we all see more people living on our streets. That doesn’t feel right to any of us. Housing 2025 is St. Vincent de Paul’s commitment to respond boldly, urgently, and compassionately to better meet the needs of our unhoused neighbors.”
Housing 2025 focuses on three things:
- Moving people into permanent housing (not shelter, not transitional housing, not temporary housing). We are moving people HOME.
- Increasing SVdP’s permanent rehousing rate by 20%. While we work on all kinds of rehousing, this goal looks to increase specifically permanent rehousing so that people are less likely to return to homelessness.
- Offering the community a shared goal to rally around and inviting people to do their part in helping address the homelessness they see.
SVdP rehouses people through its two different shelter and transitional housing programs, as well as its Resource Center and dining rooms. The programs work together and in partnership with agencies across the Valley to find the best permanent housing solution for each individual or family.
“It takes a community to help solve homelessness one person at a time,” said SVdP Ozanam Manor Director Julia Matthies, who oversees one of SVdP’s transitional housing programs and is project manager for the Housing 2025 goal. “We cannot do this work without our partners.”
SVdP began working on the goal in October 2022, in alignment with its fiscal year. The increased rate requires the nonprofit to rehouse 63 people per month for the first year. As of December 2022, the nonprofit already found homes for 277 people. That’s 88 individuals ahead of goal.
“This work isn’t new to us,” Julia said. “Every day, St. Vincent de Paul moves people into permanent housing. It’s just a matter of having the resources, funding and collective will to do more.”
For more information or to support SVdP’s Housing 2025 initiative, visit stvincentdepaul.net/housing2025
