Maricopa County families facing average 7-week wait for shelter

There are around 178 families on the "family housing hub" waitlist for shelter in Maricopa County, according to local nonprofit UMOM New Day Centers. The nonprofit tells KTAR News 92.3 FM as of Oct. 9th, families who call 211 face about an average wait of 7 weeks for shelter.

It's less than the 198 families on the waitlist UMOM reported in July, though they also said there was a 6 week average wait time then.

Austin Davis with Tempe-based nonprofit "AZ Hugs" says that wait is too long and is continuing to call for state intervention to quickly expand shelter space and resources in place for families facing homelessness. He argues Gov. Katie Hobbs can declare a state of emergency to immediately direct funds to create a place for families to go on day one of homelessness.

He points to AZ Hugs' current partnership with First United Methodist Church in Mesa, where around eight families a night are able to stay with support from volunteers, as a solution that can be replicated.

Davis also continues to report families are being removed from the waitlist for reporting they found other short-term accommodations or failing to call back to ensure they're still on the list. UMOM has disputed past instances of family removals from the family housing hub.

For now, Davis says AZ Hugs is continuing to get anywhere up to 40 families a night into hotels with funds raised from the community, but he says that nor the overall system in place can keep up with the need.