TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — One year after the City of Tucson launched Star Village, the program has served 138 people experiencing homelessness — and the city has renewed it for a second year.
Star Village opened in midtown Tucson as a one-year pilot program designed to offer an alternative to traditional shelter.
The site operates as a safe outdoor space for up to 25 women at a time. Each resident receives a tent, a bed, storage and access to on-site services. Every resident is also assigned a caseworker.
The nonprofits Primavera and Old Pueblo Community Services partnered with the city throughout the pilot year to connect residents with resources.
The program's first-year numbers reflect measurable outcomes. More than 42% of residents have moved on to shelters since passing through Star Village, and 27 people have transitioned into temporary or permanent housing.
Tucson Assistant City Manager Liz Morales said Star Village was built to work differently from a conventional shelter from the beginning.
"So Star Village is what we call a safe outdoor space. It's not your traditional shelter where it's bricks and mortar, where people are inside a building." Morales said.
Morales said the site was developed around the goal of giving residents a place where they feel secure, with structured support available on-site at all times.
"With what we have at Star Village, the model was really a place where people feel safe," Morales said. "It's a closed campus, but we have supports on site, whether it's case management, connections to treatment, to behavioral health services, or food."
The city also says violent crime in the surrounding neighborhood has dropped 5% since Star Village opened. Morales said the results point to what this kind of program can accomplish when implemented with care.
"So we know that when we do projects like this the right way, we can help a very challenging area," Morales said.
With the pilot renewed for a second year, Old Pueblo Community Services is taking over daily operations from Primavera. The focus is now shifting to how the model can be refined and scaled to reach more people.
Tom Litwicki, CEO of Old Pueblo Community Services, said the immediate responsibility is to the people currently at Star Village — but the organization is already thinking about growth.
"I think what's most important for Star Village is first to help the people that are there. But then I think the next responsibility is to look at how do we scale this up." Litwicki said.
"We're learning and we want to find ways to reduce costs, to improve operations and scale this up on a larger scale."
----
STAY IN TOUCH WITH US ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
