Circle the City (CTC) is a Phoenix-based federally qualified health center focused on the needs of people who are homeless. Serving Maricopa County, it operates facilities and programs that offer services to more than 8,000 people annually, providing 63,000 medical appointments and 32,000 days of respite care.

CTC is the only FQHC in central Arizona that is exclusively focused on homelessness. It operates two medical centers, two respite care centers, four mobile medical units, street medicine teams and a hospital health navigator program, with employees stationed at area hospital emergency departments to help connect patients facing homelessness to necessary support services.

East Valley Medical Respite Center (EVMR) is a $21.2 million facility in Mesa, Ariz., built to support the well-being of very low-income people who are discharged from local hospitals but with no home where they can recuperate from illness or injuries.

EVMR includes 84 beds for men and women and is designed as a step-down facility offering medical care, meals, case management and a range of other services for at-risk patients. Mesa and surrounding areas have been designated as Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). There are no medical respite services or step-down options for patients experiencing homelessness who require continued care post-discharge. This project is intended to help fill that gap.

The new facility will serve an estimated 344 homeless individuals, annually and provide more than 35,000 “encounters” for behavioral health, physical therapy, primary care, housing assistance and other services. Based on CTC’s experience with its existing respite care facilities, the average length of stay is 85 days.

Broadstreet is supporting EVMR with $7 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocation from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). It is part of Broadstreet’s focus on deploying impact investments that address social determinants of health for economically vulnerable people and communities. The Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) has committed an additional $15 million in NMTC allocation. U.S. Bank is the investor for both.

Without affordable NMTC financing, this project would likely be postponed indefinitely, leaving medically at-risk homeless and very low-income people without adequate care and support. The project is also a job creator that supports the local economy, with estimates of 78 new full-time positions, 22 part-time positions, and 73 construction jobs.