Councilman Tom Simplot
Inaugural Remarks
Jan. 4, 2010
Mayor Gordon, fellow council members, my family, distinguished guests:
Today marks the third time that I have had the privilege of taking the oath of office as one of your Phoenix City Council members. I am very proud to be a member of this body, and to have served as your vice mayor for the last year. My colleagues, thank you for that honor. I also can not do any of this without the great support I have from my staff here at City Hall. Alma Hernandez, Megan Schmitz, Nicky Borselli, and Rose Ferguson, thank you for all you do. You are simply amazing.
During the past six years, a lot has happened here at City Hall. So it’s tempting to draw comparisons between “then” and “now.” But as much as I would like to list the many challenges we have successfully met together, today is about looking forward.
Those who believe that our current fiscal realities and the shifting economy are harbingers of doom have not paid attention to the thoughtful, steady, and at times visionary decision-making of this Council. The Phoenix we want is reliant upon every one of us in the room choosing the right course at every fork in the road. Toward that end, I want to take just a few minutes to share with you one of the biggest challenges I expect will consume much of my time as the Councilman from District 4: Stabilizing our neighborhoods by focusing on the chronically homeless.
Let’s face it: one of the biggest challenges we have is the chronic homelessness of hundreds of individuals each and every night. We know from empirical data nationwide that roughly 15 percent of our homeless population consumes more than 80 percent of our limited housing resources. We have used the same model for combating homelessness since the early 1980s, and now is the time to admit that it isn’t working. Let’s reserve the use of the words “transitional housing” for those who truly need temporary housing. For the 15% who are chronically homeless, let’s focus on permanent housing. How? By adopting and implementing the Housing First Model found in Seattle, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and many other major cities across America. Let’s focus on those who are sleeping in the gutters right in our own neighborhoods and provide them the permanent housing they need without creating artificial barriers to success. Let’s stop warehousing the chronically homeless in downtown Phoenix. And let’s admit that most of these folks have chronic mental illness and a myriad number of addictions and health issues that we simply aren’t addressing.
Many of the folks I am referring to served us with pride in the military, and/or are our native American neighbors who have lost their way. Housing First provides them permanent housing with the support services they need, without requiring them to sober up to keep the roof over their head. They may not become sober and addiction-free, but let’s face reality, many of these individuals never will. Instead, let’s provide them the housing they deserve using the financial resources they already possess -- military housing vouchers, section 8 vouchers, and permanent monthly sources of income that flow with the individual and can cover the cost of permanent housing. I am committed to siting a Housing First community in my district, and I thank my colleagues for voting last month to issue an RFP to do this. The Valley of the Sun United Way has set as a goal 250 units of permanent supportive housing by 2012, and I know Phoenix will be on the forefront to make this happen.
Finding permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless will go a long way towards bringing stability to our neighborhoods, and if statistics in other major cities hold true, could almost double the number of available beds on a nightly basis for those who truly need “temporary” housing.
I consider myself an optimist. I hope in the last six years I’ve also proven that I’m a hard worker – for as former Secretary of State General Colin Powell, once said: “A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”
I look forward to making our dreams come true, and I look forward to starting us down the path of finding a new solution for those who have served our country proudly, but now permanently sleep in the bushes each and every night.
We each have our own contribution to the tasks at hand, we each have our own journey on the road ahead, and we each have our own point on the horizon toward which we are headed. Let’s get to work.
Thank you, and Happy 2010!