If you need emergency housing in Maricopa County or do not have a safe place to sleep tonight, the first priority is finding the right shelter or immediate assistance for your situation.
Maricopa County has different access points for single adults, families, veterans, youth, and people fleeing domestic violence. Knowing which one applies to you can prevent unnecessary calls and trips.
If your situation is not an immediate emergency and you are looking for a broader directory of shelters, food assistance, housing programs, Rapid Re-Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing, and other services, see HighVolting’s Maricopa Housing & Homeless Resources guide.
If you are a single adult and need shelter
Single adults age 18 and older experiencing homelessness can start with the Brian Garcia Welcome Center at the Key Campus in Phoenix.
Brian Garcia Welcome Center
206 S. 12th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: 602-229-5155
The Welcome Center is an access point for people experiencing homelessness and can connect individuals with shelter navigation, Coordinated Entry, identification assistance, benefits, health care, employment resources, and other services.
Shelter availability changes, so arriving at a homelessness-services campus does not guarantee that a bed will immediately be available.
You can also call 2-1-1 or 877-211-8661 for current homelessness and community resources.
If you are a family with children
Families with dependent children should begin with the Family Housing Hub.
Family Housing Hub
3307 E. Van Buren St.
Phoenix, AZ
Phone: 602-595-8700
The Family Housing Hub is a central access point for families experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County and helps connect families with shelter and other resources.
Families can also call 2-1-1 for assistance identifying current shelter, homelessness-prevention, and community resources.
Some family shelters have their own screening procedures as well. For example, Family Promise of Greater Phoenix currently instructs families with at least one child to call 480-659-5227 for screening.
Do not assume that calling one shelter means every family shelter is full. Intake procedures and availability differ by provider.
If you are a single woman
Single women without children who need emergency shelter can contact UMOM’s Halle Women’s Center.
Halle Women’s Center
3424 E. Van Buren St.
Phoenix, AZ
Phone: 602-362-5833
UMOM currently instructs single women to call the Halle Women’s Center directly to get onto its shelter waiting list.
The shelter provides temporary housing along with case management, meals, employment services, landlord advocacy, and connections to other community resources.
If you are a single man in the East Valley
A New Leaf’s East Valley Men’s Center provides emergency shelter and supportive services for adult men experiencing homelessness.
East Valley Men’s Center
2345 N. Country Club Dr.
Mesa, AZ 85201
The center currently uses a pre-screening process for admission rather than ordinary telephone intake.
Men seeking placement can complete the provider’s current pre-screen or call 877-211-8661 for general shelter assistance.
The program also provides employment assistance, transportation support, financial coaching, and help developing a permanent-housing plan.
If you are a veteran
Veterans experiencing homelessness have a specialized access point through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
VA Community Resource and Referral Center
1500 E. Thomas Rd., Suite 106
Phoenix, AZ 85014
Phone: 602-248-6040
Veterans may qualify for homelessness and housing resources specifically designed for former service members, so it is important to identify veteran status when seeking assistance.
If you are age 12 to 17
Youth ages 12 through 17 who need a safe place can contact Safe Place.
Phone: 602-841-5799
You can also text SAFE and your current address to 44357 to receive information about a nearby Safe Place location.
Young adults ages 18 through 24 may qualify for separate youth homelessness programs. Call 2-1-1 and specifically ask for resources for young adults experiencing homelessness.
If you are fleeing domestic violence
If homelessness is connected to domestic violence, sexual violence, stalking, trafficking, or another dangerous situation, use the specialized domestic-violence system rather than relying only on a general homeless shelter.
SAFEDVS 24-Hour Crisis Line
480-890-3039
Toll-free: 844-723-3387
National Domestic Violence Hotline
800-799-7233
Text START to 88788
Domestic-violence shelter locations may be confidential for safety reasons.
If you are in immediate physical danger, call 911.
If you are experiencing a behavioral-health crisis
Housing instability and a behavioral-health crisis can happen at the same time, but they require different responses.
Call or text 988 if you are experiencing a mental-health or suicide crisis.
Arizona’s statewide crisis line is also available at:
1-844-534-HOPE (4673)
Text 4HOPE (44673)
Crisis services can respond to an immediate behavioral-health emergency. They are not the same as joining a housing or shelter waiting list.
If you also need shelter, connect separately with the appropriate homelessness access point.
What happens after you connect with Coordinated Entry?
Maricopa County uses Coordinated Entry to help organize access to homelessness resources.
It is important to understand what that means.
Coordinated Entry is not a conventional apartment waiting list where everyone receives a number and eventually reaches the front.
Instead, the system gathers information about a household’s situation, determines what homelessness interventions may be appropriate, and uses established eligibility and prioritization procedures when resources become available.
The process generally begins by connecting with an appropriate access point or homelessness-services provider.
Staff then gather information about your housing situation, household, homelessness history, safety concerns, and other factors relevant to determining what assistance may be appropriate.
Maricopa County has transitioned away from the older VI-SPDAT assessment. Current assessment and prioritization procedures use the region’s newer approach, so there is no reason to search online for an old VI-SPDAT form and complete it yourself.
Follow the instructions provided by the current Coordinated Entry access point.
Coordinated Entry does not guarantee housing
Completing an assessment does not mean that an apartment has been reserved for you.
Resources such as Rapid Re-Housing and Permanent Supportive Housing have eligibility requirements and limited capacity.
The intervention appropriate for one household may also be different from the intervention appropriate for another.
Some people may need emergency shelter and relatively limited assistance before returning to independent housing. Others may need Rapid Re-Housing. Some households with significant long-term needs may qualify for Permanent Supportive Housing.
Other people may ultimately find housing outside the homeless response system through public housing, subsidized apartments, Housing Choice Vouchers, shared housing, family support, or another pathway.
This is why it is useful to continue pursuing appropriate housing opportunities while working with the homelessness system.
Diversion may help prevent a shelter stay
Not everyone who contacts the homelessness system necessarily needs to enter a shelter.
Diversion is an approach that explores whether a safe, realistic alternative to shelter can be found.
For example, someone may temporarily be able to remain with family or friends if a specific conflict can be resolved. Another household may be able to preserve existing housing through landlord communication or limited financial assistance when an eligible resource is available.
Diversion is not about telling someone to simply “go stay with family.”
The alternative has to be safe and realistic for the household.
When diversion works, it can help someone avoid entering homelessness or reduce the amount of time spent in shelter.
Rapid Re-Housing provides temporary assistance toward permanent housing
Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) helps eligible people experiencing homelessness move into permanent rental housing.
Depending on the program, assistance may include housing search, eligible move-in costs, temporary rental assistance, and housing-focused case management.
The apartment can become the participant’s permanent home.
The RRH financial assistance is temporary.
There is no universal rule that every RRH participant receives only a few months of assistance or pays exactly 30% of income. Program rules, household circumstances, and funding sources affect both the amount and duration of assistance.
HighVolting’s Rapid Rehousing Information guide explains the program in greater detail, including eligibility, rent contributions, housing search, temporary assistance, and planning for what happens when the subsidy ends.
Permanent Supportive Housing serves people with substantial housing-stability needs
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) combines long-term housing assistance with supportive services.
It generally serves eligible people experiencing homelessness who have disabilities and significant barriers to maintaining housing independently.
PSH should not be described as automatically providing a free apartment.
Rent contributions depend on the particular housing program and household income. A participant with no income may have little or no tenant contribution under some subsidy structures, while a participant with income may be required to contribute toward rent.
Eligibility also does not mean that an appropriate PSH unit is immediately available.
For a broader explanation of PSH, zero-income households, Section 8, AHCCCS housing, and subsidized apartments, read HighVolting’s No Free Housing guide.
Emergency shelter is not the same as an affordable-housing waiting list
If you need somewhere to sleep tonight, a public-housing or Section 8 waiting list will not solve the immediate problem.
Those are longer-term housing pathways.
At the same time, someone staying in emergency shelter should not wait until the shelter stay is ending before beginning a permanent-housing search.
Depending on eligibility, longer-term possibilities can include public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers when waiting lists are open, project-based subsidized apartments, nonprofit affordable housing, AHCCCS housing resources for eligible members, and shared housing.
HighVolting’s A Guide to Finding Your Apartment explains how to approach these longer-term options, including waiting lists, documentation, subsidized properties, rental barriers, and affordability.
Food and basic-needs assistance
Housing may be the largest problem, but someone experiencing homelessness also needs food, hygiene supplies, clothing, transportation, and a reliable way to communicate with service providers.
The Key Campus in downtown Phoenix brings several homelessness-service organizations together in one area, including services that can help with basic needs, employment, identification, health care, and housing navigation.
St. Vincent de Paul also operates free dining rooms in Phoenix.
The Phoenix Dining Room at 1075 W. Jackson St. provides breakfast on weekdays and lunch daily, with an additional Friday dinner.
NourishPHX, located at 501 S. 9th Ave., provides food, clothing, and other assistance during its current service hours.
St. Mary’s Food Bank operates food distribution services throughout the Valley.
For the nearest food resource available today, call 2-1-1 rather than traveling across the Valley based on an old resource list.
Heat relief is seasonal and changes each year
Extreme heat can become an immediate medical danger for anyone sleeping outside in Maricopa County.
Phoenix and regional partners operate a Heat Relief Network during the hot-weather season. Locations can include cooling centers, hydration stations, respite centers, libraries, and other participating facilities.
These locations and hours change by season.
Phoenix’s dedicated 2026 heat-relief locations operated through September 30 and closed for the fall and winter season on October 1. Phoenix public libraries continue to provide air-conditioned public space during their normal operating hours.
During heat season, use the current Heat Relief Network map or call 2-1-1 rather than relying on a list copied from a previous summer.
Phoenix cooling centers are free to use, open to the public, and do not require identification.
During the 2026 heat season, Phoenix also provided transportation assistance to heat-relief locations through 2-1-1. Availability of transportation should be confirmed for the current season.
Employment and benefits can be part of the housing plan
For people who are able to work, employment can improve the range of housing options available.
ARIZONA@WORK provides employment services that can include job-search assistance, career planning, training opportunities, and connections with employers.
St. Joseph the Worker, located at the Key Campus, also provides employment-focused assistance to people experiencing or emerging from homelessness.
However, employment should not be treated as the solution for every person experiencing homelessness.
Someone who cannot work because of age, disability, or another circumstance may instead need help obtaining or maintaining Social Security, SSI, SSDI, veterans benefits, or other eligible income.
Families may also qualify for programs administered through the Arizona Department of Economic Security, including nutrition and cash-assistance programs when eligibility requirements are met.
The goal is to identify a realistic source of ongoing income or support, not apply the same employment expectation to everyone.
Keep your documents and contact information organized
Housing opportunities can be lost when an agency cannot reach an applicant.
If you change your phone number, mailing address, or email address, update every housing or homelessness program where you have an active application or referral.
Keep identification and important records safe whenever possible.
Documents commonly requested during housing processes can include identification, Social Security information, proof of income or benefits, household documentation, and other records required by the particular program.
Do not assume every provider requires the same documents.
If you do not have a reliable mailing address or telephone, ask your case manager or homelessness-services provider whether a mailing or communication option is available.
Rental barriers should be identified early
An eviction, landlord debt, utility debt, poor credit, or criminal history can complicate a housing search, but these barriers do not automatically disqualify someone from every housing program.
Different landlords and housing programs use different screening standards.
The useful approach is to know what appears on your record before an apartment opportunity arrives.
Obtain your credit report, review previous landlord balances, gather documentation about past housing issues, and ask the housing provider what screening standards actually apply.
Do not assume that paying every old debt is always required before applying. Determine whether the particular debt or record will actually affect eligibility and what options exist for addressing it.
What to do today
If you have nowhere safe to sleep, start with the access point that matches your situation:
Single adult: Brian Garcia Welcome Center, 602-229-5155
Family with dependent children: Family Housing Hub, 602-595-8700, or 2-1-1
Single woman: Halle Women’s Center, 602-362-5833
Veteran: VA Community Resource and Referral Center, 602-248-6040
Youth age 12–17: Safe Place, 602-841-5799, or text SAFE and your address to 44357
Domestic violence survivor: SAFEDVS, 480-890-3039 or 844-723-3387
Behavioral-health crisis: Call or text 988
Not sure where to start: Call 2-1-1
If you are already connected to shelter or Coordinated Entry, stay in contact with your assigned provider and continue working on longer-term housing options rather than waiting passively for a referral.
For the broader countywide resource directory, including additional shelters, food resources, housing programs, Rapid Re-Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing, AHCCCS housing, and affordable-housing pathways, read HighVolting’s Maricopa Housing & Homeless Resources guide.
Important: Shelter capacity, intake procedures, program eligibility, phone numbers, heat-relief locations, funding, and housing availability can change. Call the provider or 2-1-1 before traveling whenever possible.
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