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Council receives gaps analysis on homelessness and opioid crisis; forms multiagency task force
Summary
City staff presented a gaps analysis on homelessness and the fentanyl/opioid public‑health crisis, identifying shortages of low‑barrier shelter capacity, real‑time data sharing, and behavioral‑health treatment access; council voted to create a multiagency task force to coordinate city, county and regional actions.
City staff presented a gaps analysis Feb. 19 that mapped bottlenecks in responses to unsheltered homelessness and the fentanyl/opioid public‑health crisis and requested council direction on cross‑jurisdictional coordination and funding priorities.
Assistant City Manager Les Morales and Community Safety Program Director Brandy Champion said the September 2024‑directed review used scenario workshops with city and county staff and community providers to trace the pathways an unsheltered person or an arrested person takes through outreach, shelter, treatment, law enforcement and courts. The report grouped gaps into three areas: encampments/shelter/services for unsheltered people; behavioral‑health and substance‑use treatment; and safety/justice strategies.
Key findings reported to council included insufficient low‑barrier shelter beds and secure personal‑property storage (which staff said can prevent people from accepting shelter), data inaccuracies that impede real‑time bed‑availability tracking, limited weekend/holiday drop‑off and intake options, and shortages of care-coordination and housing navigation resources. The presentation said the city has engaged more than 4,000 unsheltered people since October 2021 and stressed that the opioid/fentanyl crisis has increased the intensity of needs and the difficulty of linking people to care.
Staff announced a near-term capacity addition: the AMFI housing resource center — a congregate, low‑barrier shelter operated by Old Pueblo Community Services — will open March 1 and provide 70 beds, a change staff said will increase placement options. Champion also noted the opioid-settlement committee is evaluating investments that could be used for one‑time infrastructure and service openings; staff flagged a sobering alternative/recovery (SAFER) model and said a request for proposals would be considered for April.
Police Chief described operational impacts of the crisis: the department reported 473 narcotics‑related arrests year to date at the time of the briefing, up 12% year over year and 35% above the five‑year average. He said prosecutions and bookings have created pressure across city and county justice systems (staff cited 620 arrest files to city prosecutors and over 1,600 felony cases forwarded to the Pima County Attorney’s Office through Feb. 10, for a total of roughly 2,400 arrests). Staff described continued efforts to improve data sharing with the county attorney, courts and jail health partners and noted the county has begun investments to strengthen jail medical, mental‑health and MAT capacity.
Mayor Romero proposed and the council unanimously approved a multiagency task force to include the mayor and vice mayor, city manager, county administrator, chair of the Board of Supervisors, city and county attorneys, police and sheriff chiefs and other partners; the motion directs staff to convene the group and return with an action plan to address the gaps identified in the analysis.
What’s next: the city will keep implementing existing outreach, keep AMFI 70‑bed shelter moving to open March 1, continue opioid‑settlement committee work, and convene the new task force to produce an action plan and prioritized investments.
