Local opinion: STAR Village puts Sugar Hill neighborhood at risk

The following is the opinion and analysis of the writers:

The City of Tucson is preparing to open STAR Village, a sanctioned homeless encampment in the historically Black neighborhood of Sugar Hill, which remains rich in culture, community, and tradition. STAR Village is being built for 25 women and nonbinary people, at a starting cost of $450,000. Officials call it a “pilot program,” and if deemed successful, more city-sanctioned encampments will follow.

Neighborhood concerns are real. There was no transparency from the City, something Jack Anderson, president of the Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association, emphasized at the Tucson Crime Free Coalition press conference last Monday night. Concerns are that this plan will embed crime, drug use, and disorder into the neighborhood. Despite these concerns, STAR Village is opening October 15. At a meeting Wednesday night, City staff even stated they are not obligated to inform neighborhoods when they build encampments nearby.

With Tucson City Council elections approaching, the question of sanctioned encampments has surfaced as a proposed solution. However, when Councilmember Karin Uhlich, to her credit, opened a dialogue about creating “Help Huts,” essentially turning ramadas into shelters in city parks, the negative feedback was immense and the conversation ended.

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Adrian Wurr’s experience should serve as a warning. Wurr, president of the Hedrick Acres Neighborhood Association, recently sued the City of Tucson, and won, for maintaining a public nuisance at Navajo Wash. For years, Wurr and his neighbors lived beside an encampment filled with drug use, discarded needles, trash, human waste, and fire hazards, leaving families and University of Arizona students living in fear. At trial, one revelation was especially troubling: the City itself distributed tents, tarps, and food directly into encampments. While this may appear compassionate, it enabled the chronically unhoused to remain outdoors year-round. Before tents were provided, summer heat often forced people to seek shelter — an opportunity to receive services and stabilize. Now, encampments persist indefinitely, with 90 percent of residents refusing formal services. Wurr’s message is clear: “Stop STAR Village.” Encampments are not humane, and they destroy neighborhoods and home values.

There are better solutions. TCFC has long supported the Pima County Transition Center, which opened in 2023 next to the jail. Staffed by “justice navigators” with lived experience, the Center meets people at release, providing support and treatment options. The results speak volumes: recidivism dropped from 27 percent to under 11 percent. More than 1,100 people have been served, saving taxpayers nearly $1 million in the first year alone. The Transition Center works because it combines compassion with accountability, helping people stabilize rather than drift back to the streets.

Yet the Transition Center is underutilized. The City of Tucson has been slow to support its services and partner with Pima County. At present, it is only open Monday through Friday during business hours. More funding is needed to extend operations to a 24/7 model. Instead of pouring resources into a 25- person encampment, Tucson should expand the Transition Center’s hours, staff, and reach.

Another model with real promise was recently demonstrated at Santa Cruz Park. In a coordinated operation, Tucson Police, Pima County Justice Services, City Court, outreach navigators, and treatment providers entered the wash as a team. Individuals with felony warrants were arrested, but those with misdemeanors were offered on-the-spot resolutions and direct placement into treatment or shelter. Mobile courtrooms, peer navigators, and treatment beds were integrated into one system that disrupted the cycle of addiction, crime, and homelessness. This approach to disrupt, engage, and divert, combines accountability with immediate access to services. It is exactly the kind of solution Tucson should replicate citywide, rather than gambling on sanctioned encampments.

Tucson has reached a point where indifference cannot be disguised as compassion. For people who are service-resistant and continue to break laws and commit crimes, accountability is essential. To ignore this reality is simply enabling.

Tucson doesn’t need STAR Village. We don’t need sanctioned encampments that repeat the failures of Navajo Wash. We need solutions and accountability that address the cycle of addiction head-on. The Transition Center, navigators, and the Santa Cruz model offer that path: scalable, accountable, and effective. Tucson deserves safe neighborhoods, and the unhoused deserve real opportunities for recovery.