2000 Best Practice Awards

Best Practice: Health Care for the Homeless Program

Taking Health Care to those in Need

Phoenix. The Health Care for the Homeless Program delivers health care to homeless individuals in Maricopa County through an interdisciplinary approach that combines aggressive street outreach with integrated systems of primary care, dental, vision, mental health and substance abuse services, case management and client advocacy. Program outreach workers go into the streets, shelters, desert camps, river bottoms, and under bridges to offer homeless persons a continuum of health care—both directly and through referrals. This roaming one-stop shop approach overcomes barriers such as transportation and client inability to make repeat visits to care providers. The program assisted 13,000 homeless individuals in 1999, offering early intervention with less costly care. Program services helped reduce transmission of communicable diseases and limited use of hospital emergency rooms for primary care needs. The program partners with shelters and public and private-sector organizations for services and funding.

Contact: Annette Stein, Phone: (602) 258-2122 Ext. 232
Tracking Number: 1442
Winning Category: Program (Community Planning and Development)

Best Practice: Lead Education and Outreach

Keeping Hispanic Communities Safe from Lead

Phoenix. To reach Hispanic communities with high risk of lead poisoning, the Phoenix Neighborhood Services Department relies on creative educational games to teach families about effective ways to prevent lead poisoning in children. They include a game based on a Mexican game called La Loteria, developed for low literacy populations, and Lead Bingo, for Spanish and English populations. The department leveraged HUD and EPA grant funds to support training development, delivery and outreach. Local government and private organizations provide in-kind contributions.

Contact: Lara E. Cagle, Phone: (602) 252-7566
Tracking Number: 3270
Winning Category: Program (Office of Lead Hazard Control)

Best Practices: Phoenix Central City South Revitalization

Revitalizing Phoenix through Community Planning

Phoenix. The small nonprofit Phoenix Revitalization Corporation and a group of grassroots leaders leveraged a small budget and limited resources into a major impact in the city of Phoenix by working with the HUD Community Builder Program and the Reinventing Neighborhoods Program initiated by Arizona State University. By partnering with local residents, businesses, nonprofit agencies, federal, state and local governments, and community leaders, Phoenix Revitalization published a community plan with recommendations ranging from housing demonstrations to public/private employment programs. The State of Arizona and private investors began funding the strategies. Corporation-sponsored neighborhood study sessions that educated citizens in community issues and honed leadership skills have generated a land- use map and design guidelines. Phoenix Revitalization also is working with HUD on a food authority project to create employment opportunities related to the processing of food and fiber crops grown in Arizona and Mexico.

Contact: Terry Davis, Phone: (602) 253-6895
Tracking Number: 3020
Winning Category: Geographical and Program (Community Builder)

Best Practice: Phoenix Equal Opportunity Department (PEOD)

PEOD Creates Video on Fair Housing Practices

Phoenix. Phoenix Equal Opportunity Department is a participant in the Fair Housing Assistance Program, authorized through the federal Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act recognizes state or local governments with fair housing laws providing rights and remedies that are substantially equivalent to those under the federal law. The city of Phoenix regularly participates in outreach activities to citizen groups and professionals in the housing industry informing them of the rights and responsibilities conferred by local and federal fair housing laws. To promote outreach and educational opportunities, PEOD created a 17-minute video, "Be Fair...or Beware!" The video is designed for consumers and providers, including landlords, leasing agents, resident managers and other housing-industry professionals. Two vignettes are featured and they explore how practices that appear legal may, in fact, be discriminatory.

Contact: Lionel Lyon, Phone: (602) 495-0572
Tracking Number: 2382
Winning Category: Program (Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity)

Best Practice: Agua Para Beber (Drinking Water)

Making Water Safe for Drinking

Tucson. Agua Para Beber is an EPA-funded project that trains health promotores, or promoters, to teach residents in the Arizona-Mexico border region how to chlorinate and store drinking water to combat illnesses spread though impure water. Funded through a bi-national grant, the effort makes creative use of existing resources from multiple partners in the public and nonprofit sectors. A HUD Community Builder Colonias specialist is coordinating the project, which is implemented by the nonprofit Border Health Foundation, in collaboration with its partners. Targeting three sites in the United States and three in Mexico, the project will train 500 low-income Colonias residents in environmental health education using English and Spanish curriculum.

Contact: Angela Donelson, Phone: (520) 670-6237
Tracking Number: 493
Winning Category: Program (Community Builder)

Best Practice: Tucson-Pima County Fair Housing Week

Fair Housing Week Focuses on Economic and Social Justice in Housing

Tucson. The Tucson-Pima County Fair Housing Week was created in January 2000, when a subgroup from the City/County Fair Housing Advisory Committee began planning a week of events focusing on fair housing and economic and social justice. Twelve events were planned for the week of April 1-8. The week began with presentations of city and county proclamations and "wall raising" of housing sponsored by Habitat for Humanity-Tucson. Other events included public discussions on diversity in neighborhoods, a training class on fair housing laws and a Fair Housing Awards reception. The week concluded with a basketball hoops tournament and training program sponsored by the Arizona All Stars. Approximately 150 adults participated in the week’s events and 35 youth participated in the basketball event. The Arizona Daily Star ran a front-page article on one of the Fair Housing Award winners. Legislation was passed requiring that recordings of property transactions in the state contain language that reads that any covenants, codes or restrictions based on race, religion, color, handicap status or national origin are null and void.

Contact: Anita Fonte, Phone: (520) 670-6237 Ext.240
Tracking Number: 333
Winning Category: Program (Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity)

Best Practice: Tucson Supportive Housing Program—La Casita

Providing Housing for the Young

Tucson. La Casita is a Supportive Housing Program that relies on a public-private collaboration to provide transitional housing and employment assistance to homeless youths and parenting teens. Five public- and private-sector agencies joined forces to form a Homeless Youth Network to provide educational, vocational, social, and personal living skills that help youth become self-sufficient. The Network is developing a shared database system among all agencies that streamlines the intake process for those in need of service from multiple agencies. The program triples the amount of transitional housing for youth in an area offering only three percent of its transitional housing beds to unaccompanied youth.

Contact: Steve D. Nelson, Phone: (520) 882-5500
Tracking Number: 2431
Winning Category: Program (Community Planning and Development)

Best Practice: United Community Health Center

United Community Health Center Provides Much Needed Care

Green Valley. In a medically under-served rural area of Southern Arizona, United Community Health Center delivers primary health care at three clinics. Its staff of 40 has an active patient base of 5,500. The center works proactively with school districts, churches and community groups by sending staff into neighborhoods and schools to raise public health awareness through education campaigns. Among its local and national partners are the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Pima County, Arizona Department of Health Services and the United Way Health Department. The center’s creative leveraging of resources helps support services through effective matching of state and federal funds and large private grants with small foundation grants.

Contact: Laurie Jurs, Phone: (520) 625-4401
Tracking Number: 311
Winning Category: Geographical

Best Practice: South Tenth Avenue Historic Preservation Project

Creating Affordable Housing from Historic Sites

Tucson. In Tucson, Arizona, the South Tenth Avenue Historic Preservation project rehabilitated historic homes in Barrio Historico and increased affordable housing while providing job training opportunities for the homeless and at-risk high school students. Using HOME program funding, the Primavera Foundation and homebuyer assistance funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, the project provided 10 affordable infill housing units for low-income residents. The homes represent both pueblo and sonoran design and include a number of elements intended to blend within the historic neighborhoods. These elements include the presence of both front and back porches, wooden doors and double hung wooden windows. Development of the property was undertaken by Primavera Builders work crews, comprised of the homeless, the working poor, and at risk high school students. Many of the job trainees who worked on the project moved on to full-time employment in the construction industry and earning livable wages. The homes are located near public transportation, education and job training sites.

Contact: Donald L. Chatfield, Phone: (520) 882-5383
Tracking Number: 1157
Winning Category: Program (Community Planning and Development)

Best Practice: Wilson School Coalition

Wilson School Coalition Improves Student Achievement

Phoenix. The Wilson School Coalition was formed in response to deteriorating conditions in their neighborhood, to provide needed services for families and children attending the Wilson schools in Phoenix, Ariz. The purpose of the 65-member public/private partnership is to improve student achievement and revitalize the community by matching community needs with resources. Coalition members provide resources for afterschool programs, field trips, reading programs, student job internships, private high school tuition and ongoing tutoring, career fairs, training and job placement for parents of Wilson students, primary medical and dental care, new housing construction and renovation, neighborhood clean up and crime prevention. Early results include an increase in student test scores and infusion of funding from outside the community of more than $13 million for rehabilitation of 300 apartments and construction of four single-family homes.

Contact: Robin Hanna, Phone: (480) 609-8819
Tracking Number: 1872
Winning Category: Geographical

Best Practice: Rio Puerco Acres

Rio Puerco Acres Revitalizes its Buildings and its Community

Fort Defiance. Rio Puerco, and 86 unit family project, has benefited from a monumental effort involving, teamwork, diligence and creativity. Rio Puerco was able to overcome significant structural problems: flat roofs, lack of insulation, inadequate foundations, poor site drainage and impassable perimeter roads. These were surmounted to rebuild the 28-year-old structurally deteriorating multifamily housing project. The systematic demolition, new construction and occupancy of the houses was accomplished without displacement of the Rio Puerco Acres residents. In addition to providing future opportunity for homeownership, improved living conditions and long-term affordability to low income families, this project provides opportunities for employment in a community with a deficient economic base and unemployment between 60 and 70 percent. The Rio Puerco Housing Project is also providing full-time two-year construction employment opportunities for up to 50 Navajo people and permanent jobs to four families in the long-term maintenance and management of the project. Some of the project's cash flow is funding an aggressive training program for semi-skilled construction workers. The project's $4 million payroll will help revitalize and stimulate the economy of the Navajo nation.

Contact: Everett Ross, Phone: (520) 729-5157
Tracking Number: 245
Category: Program (Housing - Multifamily)

Content Archived: April 20, 2011