Residents can now call a dedicated number, 480-350-8004, to let the city know 24/7 about a person experiencing homelessness. For general concerns, residents can email HOPE@tempe.gov. 

Callers to Tempe 311 after hours will be directed to 480-350-8004 to let the city know about a person experiencing homelessness.

City staff has been using a new reporting form to create data snapshots of encampments using information such as number of people, location, pets present and possible hazards. Now, the reporting form can be used by community members when they see encampments.

The form is available on the Tempe 311 app or by visiting tempe.gov/311. Residents can also call 311 during business hours at 480-350-4311 if they need help completing the form with a customer relations specialist.

Using this tool will help the city address safety and public health concerns faster. Find the encampment reporting form here.

After an encampment is reported by community or staff, the HOPE team visits the people at the encampment, offering resources and assessing needs. The encampment operations team prioritizes these reports based on hazards to safety and public health, location and encampment size.

Residents can now view a new homeless solutions dashboard showing the city’s work engaging with individuals experiencing homelessness and addressing encampments. Find the dashboard at homeless-solutions.tempe.gov.

The dashboard shows:

• Up-to-date information about encampments being reported through the new encampment reporting form.
• Information about our progress verifying and addressing encampments.
• Data collected by staff using a new app that shows how many times we engage with individuals, how many people are helped with housing options, how many require medical care and more.

Tempe has enhanced its protocol for addressing encampments citywide at parks, vacant lots, sidewalks and elsewhere. The priority is helping people at encampments by connecting them to housing options and services. Using an encampment reporting tool, the city has a more systematic way of identifying, verifying and addressing encampments.

Salt River outreach efforts 

With compassion and with concern for public health and safety, the City of Tempe in 2022 advanced its assistance to unsheltered individuals living in the Salt River bed near Tempe Town Lake. The operation spanned the length of the river bed, which is a no trespass area, and included multiple city departments, community partners and other government agencies.

No trespass area 

The Salt River is a no trespass area and living there is not an option due to several public health and safety concerns, including:

• Public health hazards, including but not limited to, used hypodermic needles, human and animal waste, bloodborne pathogens and sharp objects that could cause injury
• Flooding at various times of the year
• Fires that can burn and spread quickly through the dense vegetation
• Heavy mosquito/insect presence, as well as snakes, rats and other rodents
• A lack of public amenities such as restrooms and showers
• A lack of vehicle access for emergency services and difficult terrain for any emergency responders

Outcomes

The carefully planned and executed operation, which began in July 2022, resulted in several outcomes that promote the health and safety of our community. Watch a May 18, 2023 update to the City Council here. Read the update here. Read the city's initial Aug. 31, 2022 river bottom news release here.

Outreach and support

• During intensive outreach in the river bed, the city engaged with 75 people, offering immediate shelter and resources, and 50 accepted shelter. 
• The city set up a Resource Village on the banks of the river bed to provide another connection point for people to access shelter and services.
• Tempe Municipal Court created a Warrant Resolution Program to ensure that outstanding legal issues were not a barrier to getting help.

Emergency services

• The river bed can flood, and it is difficult for Tempe Fire Medical Rescue to access the area for medical calls or fires, which had increased significantly from six such calls in 2017 to 77 in 2022. In 2022, 69 of those calls occurred between January and September, as people were living in the area, and just eight occurred once people vacated the area.
• Assisting people out of the river bed also eliminated other known risks, such as exposure to hypodermic needles, human waste and chemicals.

• Tempe invested in this valuable, natural and sensitive area by funding vegetation removal and maintenance and removal of trash and debris. This work prevents the river bottom from returning to an overgrown and unsafe state.