CouncilWoman Anna Hernandez

The mayor asked us to be brief … so let’s be clear on how voted on the 2026-2027 budget:

A budget is a moral document. It reflects who we value, and who we don’t.

District 7 voted ‘yes’ on the 2026-2027 budget because community showed up and won. Increased funding for housing, childcare, food access, and youth programs. The community did that. 👏🏽

But let’s also be honest. Police received an additional $51M, bringing their share of the taxpayer-funded general fund to over $850M. Teen programs are public safety. Literacy hubs are public safety. Affordable housing is public safety. Heat relief is public safety. Urban greenways and bike corridors are public safety. Another police increase? That’s not public safety. That’s a choice.

We won’t stop pushing for a Phoenix that prioritizes community over criminalization. Stay with us: the 2027-2028 budget fight starts now. 🌹

🐾 footnote: 38% for police. Less than 3% for most everything else. Even I can do that math.

The Safe and Medical Care in Parks Ordinance (ironically named) will effectively ban medical care, harm reduction efforts and food distribution / sharing across parks

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After listening to providers, advocates, medical professionals, and community members… the message is clear.

Those closest to the work are asking us to do two things:
Reject the amended ordinance and repeal the one passed in December.

And I agree.

As policymakers, our responsibility is not to react out of fear. It is to address root causes with solutions grounded in evidence, data, and care.

This ordinance does not do that.

I will be voting to reject and repeal. And I am asking my colleagues to join me. To listen to the people doing this work every day. And no matter what happens on Wednesday, I will continue to stand with our community and fight for policies rooted in humanity. 🌹

Dustin lived on the streets of Phoenix for 20 years.
He grew up navigating homelessness as a teenager, searching for stability, for guidance, for a chance.

And what helped him hold on wasn’t a policy. It was people. It was consistent care. It was someone showing up every week with a hot meal, with dignity, with humanity.

That’s what programs like Billy’s Way Home do. They create lifelines. They build trust. They make survival possible and recovery imaginable.

When we talk about policy, we have to remember who it impacts. Policies that criminalize care don’t solve homelessness. They cut off the very support systems that help people get back on their feet.

Dustin’s story is not an exception. It’s a reminder.

A reminder that people need care, consistency, and community, not punishment. 🌹

Harm reduction is not theory. It is proven. It reduces HIV and hepatitis C, connects people to treatment, and keeps our public spaces safer. It saves lives.

And yet, instead of partnering with the very programs doing this work at no cost to taxpayers, our city is choosing to create barriers.

We have heard the concerns from neighbors. They are real. But the answer cannot be policies that ignore data, undermine public health, and criminalize care.

We should be investing in solutions that work.
We should be supporting the people already doing the work.
We should be leading with evidence, not fear.

Phoenix deserves better than recycled policies that have already failed our communities.

I stand with Shot in the Dark and all of the organizations showing up every day to care for our neighbors. 🌹

For over 50 years, Valle del Sol has provided healthcare, mental health, and addiction services across our Valley. They’ve seen thousands of our unsheltered neighbors up close. They know what works. They know what saves lives.

And still, our city of is choosing to criminalize that care.

Let’s be clear about what this ordinance does:
It puts healthcare workers, outreach teams, and everyday people at risk of being charged for doing something as simple as offering a granola bar or wrapping a wound.

That is not safety. That is not public health. That is not who we should be.

We all agree: people do not belong living in parks.
People belong housed. People deserve access to treatment and care.

But you don’t get there by punishing the very services that keep people alive long enough to access those pathways.

I stand with Valle del Sol, with our healthcare workers, and with every person showing up to care for our community. 🌹