The City of Phoenix and The Salvation Army officially launched a major expansion of the organization’s Phoenix Family Shelter on Monday, marking the start of an $8 million project aimed at increasing support for families facing homelessness.
City officials, nonprofit leaders and community partners gathered at the shelter’s East Van Buren Street campus to dedicate the future site of a third shelter wing that will increase the number of family rooms by 50%.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego joined Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington and Salvation Army Southwest Division leaders Lt. Colonels Henry Graciani and Dina Graciani during the ceremony.
City leaders framed the project as part of Phoenix’s broader effort to address housing instability and expand resources for vulnerable residents.
Gallego praised the partnership with The Salvation Army, saying the expansion would strengthen the city’s ability to provide stability and hope to parents and children during times of crisis. Hodge Washington added that increasing shelter and housing options remains central to addressing homelessness across Phoenix.
The expansion will be funded through a HOME American Rescue Plan grant administered by the city. Plans call for a new 9,356-square-foot building containing 12 additional family rooms, increasing the shelter’s total from 24 rooms to 36 and raising bed capacity to as many as 216 people.
Designers say the facility’s flexible layout will allow adjoining rooms to accommodate families of different sizes while helping parents and children remain together with added privacy.
The Phoenix Family Shelter is one of the few facilities in Arizona dedicated specifically to families with children experiencing homelessness. Alongside temporary housing, the shelter offers services including case management, meals, clothing assistance, medical and dental referrals, employment support and youth programming designed to help residents transition into permanent housing.
According to The Salvation Army, roughly 85% of families who stayed at the shelter in 2025 ultimately moved into stable housing.
Monday’s groundbreaking also coincided with the observance of National Salvation Army Week, first proclaimed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954 to recognize the organization’s humanitarian work across the country.
