In his State of the City address on February 11, 1999, Mayor Neil Giuliano brought attention to the plight of the homeless in Tempe and requested that a community task force be convened to study the issue and generate solutions. Later that year, the Tempe Community Council (TCC) invited a diverse group of Tempe residents to participate on the Homeless Task Force. Over a period of months, the Homeless Task Force gathered information from an ASU research study with the homeless, social service providers, and concerned citizens in their effort to analyze the issue and make recommendations to the Mayor and City Council. In September of 2000, the "Homeless Task Force Report" was published and specifies recommended vision and mission statements, values and short and long-term recommendations for addressing homelessness in Tempe.

The homeless people of the City of Tempe should have access to housing, health, and social services that are necessary to meet basic human needs. The design and implementation of programs for the homeless will be efficient and coordinated to reduce and prevent homelessness.

The mission of the City of Tempe to the homeless population is to coordinate a collaborative process that reduces the number of homeless locally and regionally.

• All members of the Tempe community, both homeless and non-homeless people should be safe.

• All homeless people within the City of Tempe should have access to services that meet basic needs such as housing, food and clothing.

• Services to meet basic needs should be accompanied with movement toward resolving the homeless condition.
• Homeless people are responsible for accepting help and using it well to become self-sufficient.
• Reduction and eventual elimination of homelessness in Tempe will require an earnest and continuing coordination and collaboration among all units of government, the private sector and individual citizens.
• All segments of the homeless population should be addressed, including, but not limited to: families with children, those involved with domestic violence, youth and adults on Mill Avenue and other Tempe streets, working poor, substance abusers, mentally ill, released prisoners and those with severe health problems such as HIV/AIDS.
• Tempe should provide resources toward meeting Tempe’s "fair share" of the problems while advocating that other responsible entities also do their fair share, especially regarding more help for people with mental health and substance abuse problems.
• A comprehensive approach involving a better continuum of services and methods that provide the best outcome for the funds and efforts expended is needed.

1. Establish a Homeless Coordinator position for Tempe. This position was hired in December 2002 and is charged with the responsibility of implementing the remaining recommendations.
2. Establish a Day Resource Center for homeless in Tempe.
3. Increase outreach to Tempe homeless and provide longer term case management.
4. Enhance community safety for everyone.
5. Expand Tempe’s crisis assistance response effort (CARE 7) program.
6. Enhance affordable, transitional and emergency shelter housing for Tempe.
7. Expand our community efforts to prevent homelessness.

1. Continue and increase regional planning and leadership.
2. Advocate for better mental health and substance abuse funding and increased presence of services in Tempe.
3. Promote community education and mobilization on homelessness.
4. Establish affordable and transitional housing as a permanent and ongoing part of the City’s General Plan.
5. Develop more employment and education opportunities for homeless.
6. Establish ongoing evaluation and monitoring of progress in implementing Task Force recommendations.