After the federal moratorium on evictions ended in 2021, Mesa residents who lost their home dramatically jumped, putting the state’s third largest city on pace this year to surpass pre-COVID numbers.

Regionally, more people are entering homelessness than leaving it. Last calendar year, 19 new people experienced homelessness for every 10 people who found housing, according to Maricopa County data.

“In the county, we’re seeing information that this is not getting better,” said Lindsey Balinkie, Community Services deputy director at the Nov. 6 council study session, adding “that for 2025, the numbers are very high for the county.”

While the current year’s city-specific data is not yet available, she said, “it will be a record high year for 2025.”

“It’s not getting better for folks,” she s

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