City of Tempe, AZ
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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.
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. There have been just three calls for service in the first six months of 2023.
- Assisting people out of the river bed also eliminated other known risks, such as exposure to hypodermic needles, human waste and chemicals.
Debris removal and vegetation maintenance
- The City Council continues to invest in this valuable, natural and sensitive area with the approval in June 2023 of $448,000 in recurring funding to support ongoing vegetation maintenance and removal and trash and debris removal. This investment prevents the river bottom from returning to an overgrown and unsafe state.
- Future work in the river bottom builds on the success of intensive work that began in the area in September 2022, with approximately 3,300 tons of vegetation and 150 tons of trash and debris removed in a year’s time.
News releases
Health and safety
Shelter and resources
How you can help