Why UMOM Builds Affordable Housing

If you ask why families experience homelessness, the answer often comes down to one thing: housing. Not a lack of effort, not a lack of care, but a lack of homes people can actually afford. 

At UMOM New Day Centers, we see this every day. Families come to us after doing everything they can to stay afloat. Many are working. Many have support systems. But when rent rises faster than income, even one unexpected expense can push a family into crisis. 

That’s why we don’t just provide shelter. We build housing. 

Homelessness is a housing problem

Put simply, homelessness is a housing problem. And across Arizona, the numbers tell a clear story: There simply aren’t enough affordable homes for the people who need them most. 

For families earning low incomes, the gap between what they can afford and what’s available continues to grow. In fact, there are far fewer affordable homes than there are households who need them. 

According to the Arizona State Law Journal, Arizona faces one of the most severe affordable housing shortages in the nation, with only about 24 affordable rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households — far below the national average.  

The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s “The Gap” report shows that Arizona is among the six states with the worst shortage of affordable rental homes for extremely low-income renters. 

What that means in real life is that families are faced with impossible choices: Pay rent or pay for childcare. Keep the lights on or keep a roof overhead. 

And when those choices run out, homelessness becomes a reality. 

Shelter is the first step. Housing is the solution.

As Arizona’s largest provider of emergency shelter and services for families and single women experiencing homelessness, UMOM helps families get through a crisis. On any given night, nearly 800 individuals, including more than 150 families and 80 single women, have a safe place to stay on our campus. In 2025, UMOM provided more than 380,000 nights of safe shelter to more than 15,000 individuals. 

But we know shelter alone isn’t enough. 

Real stability comes from having a place to call your own. A place where children can sleep in the same bed each night. A place where parents can focus on work, school, finances and rebuilding their lives without the constant uncertainty of where they’ll go next. 

That’s why affordable housing is a core part of our work. 

Breaking the cycle, not just managing it

Through our housing affiliate, Helping Hands Housing Services, UMOM develops and owns affordable housing communities across the Valley. 

More than just apartment buildings, these developments are communities designed with families in mind, offering safe, stable homes. In some cases, these homes are paired with supportive services that can help residents move forward. 

This can include things like: 

• Job readiness and employment support 

• Financial education and budgeting tools 

• Access to childcare and family resources 

• Life skills that build long-term independence 

Because housing alone is powerful, but housing paired with support is transformative. 

Since its inception in 1993, Helpings Hands Housing service has developed more than 1,000 units of affordable housing across the Valley, and we continue to grow that number each year. We do this because the need is urgent, and because we believe solutions should match the scale of the problem. 

Affordable housing doesn’t happen by accident. It takes partnerships, investment, and long-term commitment. It takes people and organizations coming together to say: this matters, and we’re going to do something about it. 

Ending homelessness means building housing

At UMOM, our mission is to end family homelessness by restoring hope and rebuilding lives. Affordable housing is how that mission becomes reality. Because every family deserves a safe place to call home.  

And until that’s true for everyone, our work continues. 

Learn more about UMOM’s affordable housing developments. 

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Participants in UMOM New Day Centers programs are welcome to apply for tenancy at UMOM-built properties, but no preferential treatment will be given during the application process. Ethical standards prohibit UMOM from financially subsidizing tenancy in a UMOM-built property. All UMOM Affordable Housing properties are managed by an unaffiliated property management firm, Biltmore Properties, Inc.