
The new complex offers 60 units for families at or below 60% of the Phoenix area’s median income.
Phoenix native Sabrae Hughes and her family found themselves without a home for about a year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hughes told The Copper Courier she stepped away from her job working with children while she was pregnant out of concern for her, the baby’s, and her family’s health.
RELATED: Tucson Banned Income-Based Housing Discrimination. Will Phoenix?
She, her husband, and her three children eventually had to resort to living in a car for about two weeks in a Walmart parking lot.
After Hughes reached out to her child’s school to ask for help, the school recommended getting in touch with UMOM New Day Centers. The nonprofit connected with the Hughes family and placed them in their Family Housing Hub in September.
Now the Hughes family is living in UMOM’s newest affordable housing community, Newsom Village, in south Phoenix.

“It’s just a breath of fresh air,” Hughes said of her new home. “Me and my family, we have somewhere stable where we can call home. I’ve never seen my children more excited to have somewhere to be.”
Hughes said the experience so far has been “stressless.” She and her family moved in shortly after Christmas and enjoyed spending time during the holidays together.
“It allows us to sleep at night, have a sense of safety, just being together, being able to cook in the kitchen and get whatever I want to eat, it just means a lot,” Hughes said. “People don’t appreciate it until it’s actually gone.”
Affordable Rent
The complex near Ninth Street and MLK Jr. Boulevard, named Newsom Village after the nonprofit’s former CEO Darlene Newsom, has 60 two- and three-bedroom units for families earning at or below 60% of the area median income. For example, a family of four would have to make about $53,000 or less to qualify.
The 956-square-foot two-bedroom unit rents for $722-$1,119—the price depends on each family’s income—while the 1,242-square-foot three-bedroom is listed for $832-$1,291. The prices include water, trash, and sewer utilities.

This is a steep saving from market rate rents. According to the latest data from the Maricopa Association of Governments, the median rent in the county for a two-bedroom is $1,733 and $2,168 for a three-bedroom.
Each unit has its own washer and dryer. The complex also offers a playground, barbecue area, computer lab, community room, and onsite parking.
RELATED: This Bill Would Ban Landlords From Forcing Additional Fees on Arizona Renters
CVS invested $12 million in the project with Raymond James Affordable Housing Investments. The pharmacy retailer operates a mobile RV that brings free healthcare screenings to underserved communities in Phoenix. The RV was onsite for UMOM residents during the complex’s grand opening.
UMOM operates nine other affordable housing communities. A complex down the street from Newsom Village will open this summer, while another is in development for 2024.
People in need of shelter and support services can find resources and contact information on UMOM’s website.
Looking for the latest Arizona news? Sign up for our FREE daily newsletter.
Support Our Cause
Thank you for taking the time to read our work. Before you go, we hope you'll consider supporting our values-driven journalism, which has always strived to make clear what's really at stake for Arizonans and our future.
Since day one, our goal here at The Copper Courier has always been to empower people across the state with fact-based news and information. We believe that when people are armed with knowledge about what's happening in their local, state, and federal governments—including who is working on their behalf and who is actively trying to block efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of Arizona families—they will be inspired to become civically engaged.


He said what? 10 things to know about RFK Jr.
The Kennedy family has long been considered “Democratic royalty.” But Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—son of Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated while...

Here’s everything you need to know about this month’s Mercury retrograde
Does everything in your life feel a little more chaotic than usual? Or do you feel like misunderstandings are cropping up more frequently than they...

Arizona expects to be back at the center of election attacks. Its officials are going on offense
Republican Richer and Democrat Fontes are taking more aggressive steps than ever to rebuild trust with voters, knock down disinformation, and...

George Santos’ former treasurer running attack ads in Arizona with Dem-sounding PAC name
An unregistered, Republican-run political action committee from Texas with a deceptively Democratic name and ties to disgraced US Rep. George Santos...