The challenges facing local news organizations are very real. That’s why reader support matters more than ever. If you believe independent journalism matters, make a contribution today and help us reach our summer fundraising goal of $15,000 by August 9.
It was just after 7 a.m. on Thursday morning when the Phoenix police officers rolled up to a curved stretch of road at the intersection of S. 11th Avenue and W. Jackson Street. Quickly the quiet stretch of street outside came to life. A man wearing green pants and no shirt who’d tucked himself in right up next to the wall of the Andre House of Hospitality, one of the homeless services providers, sleepily lifted his head to see what the commotion was. Immediately he stood and began to gather his stuff.
The officers were conducting a sweep of “The Zone,” the notorious homeless encampment near downtown Phoenix. While it was disbanded in 2023, The Zone still exists in a smaller form, with fewer people and fewer tents. Its boundaries are S. 9th Avenue to S. 15th Avenue between W. Jefferson and W. Jackson Streets. Ask some, however, and it extends all the way from W. Washington Street to W. Grant…