State of Downtown highlights efforts to address homelessness, help the vulnerable

BOISE — In the 2024 State of Downtown, leaders tackling homelessness took center stage.

Boise’s annual State of Downtown brings together leaders in business and local government for an overview of how the area has changed over the past year. The focus for this year’s event was Boise’s reputation as a city that maintains a downtown environment that continues to be safe and friendly for all.

“People are asking how we do what we do, how our downtown is so clean, how it’s so safe, how everybody’s so friendly … how we all say hello to each other when we walk by, even if we don’t know each other,” Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said at the event, which was held at the Egyptian Theatre. “I love letting folks know that it’s because of the people.”

Organizers for the event spoke briefly on developments in the downtown Boise area, such as a downtown population that has doubled since 2019 to more than 13,000 residents, or the “Glide on Grove” attraction that brought together 30,000 ice skaters last winter.

The bulk of the discussion, however, was on the multitude of organizations that are looking to address the needs of the local homeless population.

“When visitors come to Boise, especially from outside, they don’t see a really robust population of people experiencing homelessness like you might see in other cities,” Vanessa Cosgrove Fry, director of the Idaho Policy Institute at Boise State University, said.

This comparatively limited homeless population persists despite eviction fillings nearly doubling in Ada and Canyon counties from 2022 to 2023. Through a partnership of multiple rent-assistance and homeless organizations in Idaho, eviction judgments increased only 5% in that time, Ali Rabe, executive director of Jesse Tree, said.

“Part of the success that we’ve had is due to what we call the continuum of care,” Fry said.

A panel discussion featured a number of local organizations to showcase Boise’s “continuum of care,” highlighting the resources available for individuals and families, ranging from those that are in precarious housing situations to those that are truly experiencing homelessness.

Boise’s efforts to prevent homelessness begin well before an individual loses their home. Jesse Tree provides emergency rental assistance for individuals facing eviction as well as resources for those who are expecting to miss a rent payment or are past due on rent.

Rabe said the organization’s efforts have been successful in keeping individuals housed for the long-term. According to Rabe, Jesse Tree provided resources for 1,198 families in 2023 and past outcomes showed that 95% of the homes served remain housed five years later. Each year the organization administers about $2 million in rental assistance, Rabe said.

For those who Jesse Tree is unable to reach, shelters like Interfaith Sanctuary fulfill the next part of the continuum: helping individuals get off the street and, in time, rehoused. Partnerships have become more essential in the sector, particularly after COVID-19 brought a significant shift to homeless numbers.

“Homelessness became a totally different job description and partnership became crucial … we had to quickly pivot to figure out how we were going to save our most vulnerable lives,” Jodi Peterson-Stigers, director of Interfaith Sanctuary, said. “And it really did legitimately redefine who Interfaith Sanctuary was.”

To meet the increased demand, Interfaith Sanctuary is currently constructing a new shelter, located at 4306 W State St., with the opening slated for October 2025, as previously reported by the Idaho Press . The 42,500-square-foot shelter will be a significant upgrade over Interfaith’s current 10,000-square-foot facility, Peterson-Stigers said.

Through this upgraded facility, Interfaith Sanctuary will be able to better serve the vulnerable population by providing consistent health care services through a partnership with Terry Reilly Health Services, Peterson-Stigers said.

Stephanie Day, CATCH Idaho’s executive director, sought to explain the landscape of homelessness in the Boise area.

Day referenced the book “Homelessness is a Housing Problem” that shared researchers’ findings on the primary causes of homelessness. Day said that the correlative factor found for an area’s volume of homelessness was not substance abuse, mental health issues or local climate — it was housing availability.

For the Boise area, Day described a “Bermuda Triangle of circumstances” that have led to greater housing costs. Prior to COVID, many in the Boise area owned rentals that would rent at a below-market rate. Movement into Boise brought skyrocketing property values, leading many to sell their rental properties.

Rental homes now come with mortgages that have doubled or tripled in value, significantly reducing the “informal affordable housing” that was previously available to the community, Day said.

“Where you see rent rates increase and vacancy rates decrease, you will see homelessness increase,” Day said, on the researchers’ findings.

As more people seek out local shelters, CATCH looks to connect these individuals with programs for rental housing assistance for the “highest functioning households” or more intensive support for families that require long-term assistance, Day said. Additional effort is needed when working to transition people out of true homelessness.

“As humans, we’re designed to evolve and adapt to our circumstances, so when you live on the streets or you live in a shelter, that becomes your new normal,” Day said. “Then being in a home again after two years, which is the average that it takes to get into a housing program … there’s a transition phase that happens with that.”

To further assist with this transition, Terry Reilly provides resources for the unhoused population.

Terry Reilly serves about 40,000 in the Treasure Valley each year, about 3,000 of whom are “unhoused and houseless” in the Boise community. The latter number brings up particular concerns about how to keep individuals in good health when the circumstances bring poor outcomes, Heidi Hart, Terry Reilly CEO, said.

“Whether it’s diabetes and hypertension, whether it’s depression or anxiety disorders, it really doesn’t matter what health indicator you look at — if you’re unhoused, your health is worse and it’s harder for you to be able to meaningfully take care of yourself,” Hart said.

These medical realities underlined the fundamental message the panel was looking to convey: that the status of being homeless, and the issues and outcomes associated with it, all circle back to a lack of housing.

“There’s definitely a misconception, especially in our community, in Idaho I think more so, that people are homeless because they have serious issues,” Rabe said. “They’re using drugs, they don’t want to work, whatever it is, and that’s not what the statistics show. The statistics show that the only thing that correlates directly with rising homeless rates is rising rents. That’s it.”