Gallego Announces 15 Community Project Selections for Fiscal Year 2023 Funding
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) announced the selection of 15 Community Project Funding (CPF) requests he submitted to the House Appropriations Committee on behalf of Arizona’s seventh congressional district for the Fiscal Year 2023. In addition to meeting a diverse array of community needs, these projects will bring a total of over $37 million to Arizona's 7th District if funded by the committee and signed into law.
“I am incredibly proud that last year our office worked with community leaders to bring more than $8.5 million in Community Project Funding home to our district for everything from caring for homeless veterans and increasing access to higher education to improving emergency response services and the creation of a new job training program for my constituents,” said Rep. Gallego. “My submissions this year are just as critical, with projects totaling $37 million in funding that will fight homelessness and build affordable homes; provide increased mental health, substance abuse, and job training services for those who are struggling; increase pedestrian transportation options; and offer improved support services for underserved communities. I am incredibly grateful for all the community partners who worked with my office to put these projects forward, and I look forward to continuing to work with our local governments and nonprofits to get these projects signed into law."
The CPF program was implemented last year, allowing members of Congress to submit no more than 10 eligible requests to set aside funds within specific federal accounts for certain projects proposed by public institutions, localities, states, Tribes, or non-profits. For Fiscal Year 2023, members can now submit up to 15 requests for community projects in their district.
For information about Rep. Gallego’s FY22 requests, click here.
You can learn more about the CPF program on the House Appropriations Committee website here.
Full list of CPF project requests:
Project Name: Whole Child Approach (WCA) Program
Recipient: Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley
Recipient Address: 4309 East Belleview Street, Bldg. 14, Phoenix, AZ 85008
Amount Requested: $2,947,787
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley (BGCAZ) to expand its Whole Child Approach (WCA) Program. BGCAZ, in partnership with Terros Health, will provide children ages 5-17 at 12 Boys & Girls Clubs located in District 7 with age-appropriate, evidence-based Social Emotional Learning curricula and trauma-informed integrated behavioral health services. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because it will allow BGCAZ to better serve Arizona youth throughout the Valley, many of whom lack critical access to mental health support and were disproportionately socially and emotionally impacted by COVID-19.
Project Name: Glendale Community Centers Digital Equity Initiative
Recipient: City of Glendale
Recipient Address: 5850 W. Glendale Ave. Glendale AZ 85301
Amount Requested: $1,338,919
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to connect three community centers in the 85301 ZIP code to high-speed internet and to retrofit the community centers with Wi-Fi-enabled devices and technology equipment including monitors, televisions, computers, laptops, tablets, 3D printers, and coding software. This is a good use of taxpayer funding because it will help close the digital divide in one of the most economically disadvantaged ZIP codes in the state and allow the City of Glendale to expand many of its existing youth education after school programs, adult job training programs, and housing, nutrition, and healthcare support services programing.
Project Name: Phoenix Homelessness Support Initiative
Recipient: City of Phoenix
Recipient Address: 200 W. Washington St, Phoenix, AZ 85003
Amount Requested: $2,000,000
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to provide secure storage space for individuals experiencing homelessness to safely store their personal items while working or seeking work, receiving services, or attending to personal matters. The storage will be located at the existing Human Services Campus at 9th Ave. and Jackson St. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because the City of Phoenix is experiencing increased need for homelessness services and allowing individuals experiencing homelessness a secure place to store their items will help encourage them to utilize services and provide them stability as they search for permanent housing.
Project Name: Tolleson Pedestrian Bridge System
Recipient: City of Tolleson
Recipient Address:9555 W. Van Buren St., Tolleson, AZ 85353
Amount Requested: $3,500,000
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to design and build overhead pedestrian bridges in downtown Tolleson across 91st Avenue just south of Van Buren St. and across Van Buren St at 95th Ave. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because it will increase pedestrian safety, which is particularly important in this area because Arizona District 7 ranks among the highest in the country for traffic-related pedestrian harm and because these bridges will allow for safer and more convenient access from the East and from the North to Tolleson Union High School, as well as the Tolleson Library and Civic Center beginning in October 2022.
Project Name: Central City Addiction Recovery Center (CCARC) Renovation
Recipient: Community Bridges, Inc.
Recipient Address: 1855 W. Baseline Suite 101, Mesa, AZ 85202
Amount Requested: $2,282,152
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to renovate Community Bridges’ Central City Addiction Recovery Center (CCARC) by using trauma-informed design principles to improve crisis center capacity and productivity. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because CCARC is a full-service urgent psychiatric center providing behavioral health, substance abuse and co-occurring outpatient services to over 6,000 patients per year and is a critical safety net for City of Phoenix emergency services. This project will upgrade this community resource amid an uptick in mental illness and substance abuse in the community and foster restorative safety and healing that supports patient recovery and staff wellness and productivity.
Project Name: 100-Bed Transitional Community for People Experiencing Homelessness
Recipient: Diocesan Council for the Society of St Vincent de Paul Diocese Phoenix
Recipient Address: 420 W Watkins Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85003
Amount Requested: $3,000,000
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to help build 100 new transitional housing beds for people experiencing homelessness in South Phoenix. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because there is high need for homelessness services in the Phoenix area. The neighborhood where the facility will be located has seen homelessness double since December 2021 and this new facility will allow St. Vincent de Paul to provide the wrap-around services needed to help 150+ residents per year achieve permanent housing.
Project Name: Greater Phoenix Urban League Building Replacement
Recipient: Greater Phoenix Urban League
Recipient Address: 1402 S. 7th Ave., Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Amount Requested: $4,000,000
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to build an expanded and updated Greater Phoenix Urban League (GPUL) headquarters facility, addressing issues of pest infestation, foundation damage, updated code requirements, and normal wear on the existing building which was donated in January 1972. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because it will support expansion of GPUL’s existing programs through the construction of an Entrepreneurship Center, a Workforce Development and Training Center, a full-scale Head Start classroom facility, a food pantry, and a dedicated office for Maricopa County Women Infant and Children (WIC) and SNAP/AHCCCS services.
Project Name: Mountain Park Health Center Baseline 635 Clinic Renovation
Recipient: Mountain Park Health Center
Recipient Address: 3003 N. Central Avenue, Suite 1600, Phoenix, AZ 85012
Amount Requested: $ 3,000,000
Project Purpose and Explanation: These funds will be used to renovate Mountain Park’s nearly 30-year-old Baseline Clinic building, which is in a high-needs area of South Phoenix. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because it will allow Mountain Park more space to provide integrated services, including primary and behavioral care as well as nutritional services, and because it will enable Mountain Park to better serve its patients, 90 percent of whom are low-income individuals and the vast majority of whom are people of color.
Project Name: Osborn Pointe Homes
Recipient: Native American Connections
Recipient Address: 4520 N. Central Avenue, Suite 600, Phoenix, Arizona 85012
Amount Requested: $2,904,213
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to build a 48-unit affordable housing community designed to provide chronically homeless individuals with permanent, supportive housing in Midtown Phoenix. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because of the lack of permanent affordable housing options for low and no-income households in the Phoenix area. Native American Connections (NAC) is a premier affordable housing developer and behavioral health service provider in the state and will work with local, regional, and federal partners to provide residents at Osborn Pointe supportive services to ensure housing stability is achieved in the immediate and the long-term.
Project Name: Training Initiative to Mentor Entrepreneurs (TIME)
Recipient: Rehoboth Community Development Corporation
Recipient Address: 4432 W. Maryland Ave., Glendale, AZ 85301
Amount Requested: $203,124
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will allow Rehoboth to expand its successful Training Initiative to Mentor Entrepreneurs (TIME) program, which was started in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to provide technical assistance to minority micro entrepreneurs – businesses with 0-3 employees and less than $250,000 in annual revenues. This project is a good use of taxpayer funds because it will allow TIME to serve an additional 25 microenterprises through mentorship, business courses, and help accessing capital – one of the highest barriers faced by micro entrepreneurs – all while spurring the local economy.
Project Name: St. Mary’s Food Bank Community Services Center Renovation
Recipient: St. Mary's Food Bank
Recipient Address:2831 N. 31st Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009
Amount Requested: $4,000,000
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to renovate St. Mary’s Knight Transportation Community Services Center, including remodeling the Center’s cooler/freezer to double storage capacity, installing outdoor awnings with cooling and heating systems to protect clients and employees from the elements, modifying the property design to streamline traffic flow and food pick-ups, and installing temperature-controlled receiving and loading dock doors for food safety and efficiency. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because it will allow St. Mary’s to continue meeting the elevated community need that has arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic and to prepare for potential future crises that could result in an even greater need for emergency food.
Project Name: Tanner Thomas Tiny Homes for Homeless Veterans
Recipient: Tanner Community Development Corporation
Recipient Address: 700 E Jefferson St #200, Phoenix, AZ 85034
Amount Requested: $2,883,950
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to construct 35 tiny homes with an accompanying community services building in South Phoenix to provide permanent, supportive housing for veterans experiencing homelessness. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because there is high demand for homelessness services and affordable housing in the Phoenix area, and veterans are at high risk for experiencing homelessness. These new homes will allow veterans experiencing homelessness to access housing that has a low barrier to entry and receive wrap-around services such as nutrition, health, and workforce development services.
Project Name: Town of Guadalupe Wastewater Collection System Rehabilitation
Recipient: Town of Guadalupe
Recipient Address: 9241 S. Avenida del Yaqui, Guadalupe, Arizona 85283
Amount Requested: $872,520
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to improve Guadalupe’s Wastewater Collection System based on a 2019 assessment that found that 25 percent of the system required rehabilitation. This project consists of upgrading eleven sanitary sewer access manholes and 4,669 linear feet of sanitary sewer pipe using Cured-In-Place-Pipe (CIPP) liner, and 96 linear feet of sanitary sewer pipe using open cut excavation repair. This is a good use of taxpayer funding because it will allow the entire population of Guadalupe to experience the health and safety benefits of reliable sewer collection service for years to come.
Project Name: Trellis @ The Park
Recipient: Trellis
Recipient Address: 1405 E. McDowell, Phoenix, AZ 85006
Amount Requested: $3,200,000
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to help build 44 affordable townhomes in the Edison-Eastlake neighborhood as part of the Choice Neighborhood Initiative. The units will be set aside for low- and median-income families as part of the City of Phoenix’s One Vision Plan collaboration to revitalize the Edison-Eastlake neighborhood. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because Phoenix home prices rose at the fastest rate of any metropolitan area in the country in 2021, and this project will bring much-needed affordable mixed-income housing to a neighborhood that currently has the highest public housing concentration in Arizona.
Project Name: Valley of the Sun YMCA Y-Achievers Workforce Development for Arizona Opportunity Youth
Recipient: Valley of the Sun YMCA
Recipient Address: 350 North 1st Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85003
Amount Requested: $1,000,000
Project Purpose and Explanation: This funding will be used to expand the Valley of the Sun YMCA’s Y-Achievers Workforce Development program to serve an additional 500 youth annually by adding case managers in the areas of Chris-Town, Alhambra, Tolleson, Guadalupe, Central Phoenix, and South Phoenix. Case managers will utilize a consistent evaluation process to assess and assist each youth and provide wrap-around services to meet needs including service-learning opportunities, work readiness training, assistance with financial aid for post-secondary education, life skills and leadership workshops, entrepreneurial learning opportunities, job search support, and paid internships. This is a good use of taxpayer funds because it will support youth who face significant challenges to academic, job, and life success, including youth who are aging out of the foster care system, pregnant or parenting, homeless, low-income, disabled, high school dropouts, or in the juvenile justice system.