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The Paradise Valley Town Council voted on May 26 to allocate town funds to three local causes.
The town budgets money each year for the Community Services Funding Program, which identifies regional nonprofits or issues to support financially.
On March 24, the council directed staff members to conduct a needs assessment and identify partnerships that would address homelessness and support services for the elderly. A group of police officers and employees in the town manager’s office got together to make recommendations, which the council reviewed in a meeting on May 12.
The consent agenda item passed unanimously on May 26.
The three agencies Paradise Valley will be supporting include the Maricopa Association of Governments program Pathways Home, Central Arizona Shelter Services and Duet: Partners in Health and Aging.
The MAG Regional Council recently adopted “Pathways Home, the Regional Homelessness Action Plan for Local and Tribal Governments,” which has a goal to reduce homelessness in the county by 25% by 2027 using an array of strategies. According to MAG data, the region has seen a 12% increase in homelessness overall and an 18% increase among those not in a shelter in the last year alone.
The Town Council agreed to the staff recommendation of $25,000 to support the program.
CASS, the largest emergency homeless shelter in the state, is a longtime partner of the town. In addition to providing beds at night, CASS also connects its clients with mental health services, dental care, employment opportunities and benefits in order to help end the cycle of homelessness.
The town will also be allocating $25,000 to the cause.
Duet: Partners In Health and Aging is another longtime partner of the town’s. Their mission is to promote the health and well-being of homebound adults and their caregivers. Specifically, funding from Paradise Valley would support the Phoenix nonprofit’s Promoting Independence through In-Home Services program. The program uses volunteers to provide transportation to homebound seniors and disabled adults to medical appointments, social service agencies, grocery stores and other locations; volunteers can also help them with paperwork or fixes around the house.
In 2021, Duet said approximately 177 homebound adults received transportation to medical appointments and 280 to grocery stores, including three Paradise Valley residents. Duet also provided 20,206 one-way escorted rides to medical appointments and grocery shopping, including 160 for Paradise Valley residents.
Staff recommended financial support of $10,000 for the program.
The Town Council previously budgeted $50,000 for community services in priority one and an additional $15,000 in priority two. The total expenditure for these three programs would be $60,000.
Lindsay is a Phoenix native and is thrilled to be reporting in her hometown.
After spending several years in advertising after college, she switched gears and graduated with her master’s degree in journalism at Arizona State University in 2019.
When she’s not writing, you can usually find her reading a book or playing with her family’s dogs.
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