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Nearly 100 new shelter beds will open in Phoenix

UMOM New Day Centers
Katherine Davis-Young/KJZZ
UMOM New Day Centers

Lawsuits and the U.S. Justice Department have forced Phoenix to re-evaluate how to confront the issue of homelessness.

On Wednesday, officials plan to celebrate the grand opening of an expanded shelter facility.

Phoenix created an office about two years ago to work on solutions for homelessness. An accomplishment city officials tout is adding more shelter space.

Mayor Kate Gallego and other city leaders are scheduled to mark the addition of nearly 100 shelter beds at the headquarters of UMOM New Day Centers.

City officials say Phoenix financed the transformation of office space there into rooms for families with nowhere else to live.

The Justice Department said in June that Phoenix is the first city where investigators have found abuses of the civil and constitutional rights of homeless people.

More news on homelessness

Matthew Casey has won Edward R. Murrow awards for hard news and sports reporting since he joined KJZZ as a senior field correspondent in 2015.