TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – More than 100 people gathered at the Donna R. Liggins Recreation Center in midtown for a lively discussion about STAR (Serving Together and Rebuilding) Village. The off of East Grant Road and North 7th Avenue has been facing opposition from some neighbors who are against the safe sleeping space for up to 25 homeless women and non-binary people.
City officials, site providers, and residents both for and against STAR Village attended the meeting. However, some attendees were dissatisfied with the meeting format, which involved writing questions on cards rather than speaking directly.
“This is one solution, that’s temporary to address all the suffering that you all are seeing,” Tisha R. Tallman, CEO of the Primavera Foundation, told the crowd.
The Primavera Foundation is a poverty-focused nonprofit that will operate the site with help from the City of Tucson and Old Pueblo Community Services, which is another Tucson-based nonprofit.
Liz Morales, the assistant city manager, estimated the project will cost roughly $450,000 for its one year pilot program. Most of that money is expected from “mayor and council funds.”
Questions were read by a moderator, including one asking, “Why do all of these things have to be in our neighborhood . . . maybe some in Winterhaven, Foothills, or the Eastside.”
Morales said the hope is to expand safe sleeping sites elsewhere after the year-long pilot program ends in Ward 3. She mentioned that Wards 1 and 5 already have considerable shelters and resources, while other wards have fewer services and access to transit.
Several attendees expressed frustration at not being able to speak directly.
“What we experienced tonight was an hour of city officials and various agencies talking at us,” Martha Retallick, a neighbor who lives by STAR Village, said.
Star Village’s referred guests will have their own tents, meals, and cots, with additional services like case management and transportation to appointments.
Retallick shared that the approach discussed at the meeting was not what helped her overcome homelessness in the past.
“There was a lot of tough love. I didn’t hear that tonight and tough love was what I needed, and I think a lot of other people need that too,” she said.
Despite the opposition, Morales emphasized that Star Village will proceed, as the city continues to seek input from neighbors.
A vocal group opposed to the project expressed their dissatisfaction when Morales said this, shouting her down, feeling unheard in the decision-making process. The city aims to open the sleeping space by Oct. 15.