TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A new pilot program called STAR Village designed to provide homeless women with a secure place to live opens Wednesday at 244 E. Grant Road.
STAR stands for Serving Together and Rebuilding.
It represents a collaborative effort between the City of Tucson, the Primavera Foundation, and Old Pueblo Community Services to help women transition from street life to stable housing.
The facility will house up to 25 homeless women in individual tents equipped with cots.
Tisha Tallman, Primavera's CEO says it's more than housing.
It's a space for them to clean up, eat, and connect with resources to transform life on the street into a stable, sober life.
"Providing them with behavioral health, mental health services, physical health services, providing them with an opportunity to do housing assessment so that they can get into the housing process of getting something more permanent," said Tallman.
There will be two rectangular tents that are air-conditioned and heated, that will be used for activities and appointments. The dome shaped tent is where the meals will be provided.
There are also showers and porta-potties with a hand washing station.
"We also have transportation services so we can take folks to medical appointments. We can take folks to a job site, so it's really all inclusive," Tallman continued.
Six to 10 women will begin their stay at STAR Village on Wednesday night.
"We found that women are the vulnerable of the most vulnerable in the unhoused community. Often sleeping is not something that happens for them because they're up walking around in the evening to make sure that they stay safe, they're not assaulted and so we decided that if the City of Tucson starts with anything, we need to start with the most vulnerable population first," Tallman said.
In order to be able to stay at STAR Village, the women are required to go through an outreach team rather than walk-up access.
Women must be 18 or older, willing to participate in assessments, and agree to follow strict facility rules.
They are not allowed to have anyone staying with them.
The site prohibits drugs, weapons, alcohol, and unauthorized visitors.
Liz Morales, Assistant City Manager of Tucson, says they have a security system in place.
"What we've done is have a layer of different types of security options. It's gonna have a curfew, it's closed, visitors can't just come in," Morales said.
Cameras will also be placed in the facility.
STAR Village does accommodate pets, allowing one dog per resident and features a dedicated dog run.
The gated facility maintains 24-hour staffing by Primavera.
STAR Village is a one-year pilot program. If successful, the initiative could continue beyond the initial trial period.
"We do hope that the successful model will, you know, self perpetuate and gain momentum into providing more successful models," Tallman said.
The City of Tucson says funding for the program will come from the budgets of the Mayor and Council offices, local nonprofits, and private fundraising.
Primavera is always taking donations and volunteers. You can find out what they're looking for by visiting their website.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
Village for homeless women coming to Grant Road
Midtown neighbors pack into STAR Village town hall
----
STAY IN TOUCH WITH US ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
