At a Glance
- A Casa Grande resident questioned $1.68 million spent on pickleball courts and clubhouse renovations with nothing for housing, shelters, or campgrounds for homeless residents.
- At a recent Laundry Love session, at least five elderly women were found living in cars or unable to pay rent.
- One survives on $929 a month in Social Security. Her rent alone is $1,000. She receives food stamps for her grandchildren.
- Most water stations close when buildings close. Homeless residents have nowhere to go when summer temperatures exceed 100 degrees.
- A 100-year-old Casa Grande church that supports many local charities burned down in 2024. It is approximately $8 million short of rebuilding.
- The urban camping ordinance has been in effect since October 1, 2025. No designated space for homeless residents has been secured.
- The city meets monthly with nonprofits and continues to search for a designated space for homeless residents.
CASA GRANDE, AZ — Among the speakers at the March 16 city council meeting were two residents whose concerns were more connected than they may have appeared. One asked why $1.68 million in public funds went to pickleball courts and clubhouse renovations while homeless neighbors, including elderly women living in cars, have nowhere to go in the heat. The other described a church that has served this city for more than 100 years, and whose charitable networks serve the very same people, now burned down and $8 million short of rebuilding.
“There Should Be Some Kind of a Balance”
Barbara Sundust addressed the council during public comments. She was direct from the start.
“I’m still a little blown away by the spending of $1,680,000 of public funds for pickleball courts and clubhouse renovations,” she said, “and no money of any kind for housing, shelters, campgrounds for the less fortunate in our community.”
She was careful to draw a distinction. “I’m not saying there shouldn’t be pickleball courts,” Sundust said. “I’m saying that there should be some kind of a balance between that and serving the segment of our community that is homeless or unhoused.”
Five Elderly Women at Laundry Love
Sundust volunteers with Laundry Love, a program that helps homeless and low-income residents wash their clothes. That past Wednesday, she said, she spoke with at least five elderly women living in difficult situations — in cars, forced to move from place to place, unable to pay rent.
One woman handed her a written card. Her name is Tina.
“I’m a 67-year-old lady who lives on Social Security,” Sundust read to the council. Tina receives $929 a month, including a recent $29 raise. Her rent is $1,000 a month — not including utilities. She receives food stamps for her grandchildren. Tina ended her card with: “God is good though.”
Sundust told the council that Tina’s attitude is typical. “That’s how all our Laundry Love people react, even in difficult situations,” she said.
Summer Heat and Nowhere to Go
Sundust raised concern about homeless residents when temperatures climb past 100 degrees.
“Most water stations in town close as soon as the building closes,” she said — the library, CG Helps, and similar facilities. “What about a place for people to go in high heat at night? What about people forced to hide or go out in the desert or live in their cars when it is way over 100 degrees?”
“These are fellow human beings who deserve to be treated with respect,” Sundust said. “We need to plan something now and not wait until the summer.”
One Event Away
Sundust referenced a phrase used at the previous city council meeting by an affordable housing speaker. The phrase had stayed with her.
“For some people who don’t make a lot of money and have a huge amount of mortgage or rent,” she said, “one event away from homelessness. That’s it. Your husband dies, you get sick, rent goes up. One event from homelessness — but still we have a million dollars for pickleball.”
She closed by saying her goal was not just to address the council, but to make the broader community aware.
St. Anthony of Padua: A Church Rebuilding After Arson
Another speaker brought a different crisis to the podium — but one that touches the same community Sundust described. Janice Pratt, a longtime Casa Grande resident, came to speak about St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, a parish she said supports many of the local charities that serve Casa Grande’s most vulnerable residents.
“St. Anthony’s Catholic Church is a very special parish,” she said. “She has operated in this community for more than 100 years.”
Pratt described its history: founders with a vision, a mission that grew with the city, and eventually a grand brick building constructed not far from City Hall. That building stood for more than 60 years.
Then came October 18, 2024.
“There was an evil occurrence,” Pratt said. “That was a five-alarm fire, with many saying it was intentionally set.”
Casa Grande police, working with the fire department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, investigated the blaze. The building could not be saved and was torn down.
$8 Million Short
The parish regrouped, Pratt told the council. After months of work, a settlement with the insurance company was reached for $10.4 million.
But plans for a new building revealed a capital need of approximately $19 million, leaving the parish approximately $8 million short, Pratt told the council. Last weekend, St. Anthony’s launched its official capital campaign. Hundreds of pledge cards were distributed and are coming back in, with the fundraising effort potentially spanning more than three years.
“Building a new church quickly is essential,” she said.
Pratt described what St. Anthony’s provides to the community: daily mass, education, baptisms, communions, confirmations, marriages, funerals, and several weekend masses. “We are bursting at the seams,” she said.
She also noted the parish’s role in supporting charitable work. “There are many merciful local charities that rely on her,” Pratt said.
The appeal was open to everyone. “You don’t need to be Catholic,” she told the council and those watching. “You just need to recognize that this is a worthy cause.”
Information on the capital campaign is available at stanthonycg.org.
Where Things Stand
The council did not respond to either speaker at the meeting. Under council rules, items not on the agenda cannot be discussed by the council during public comment. They may be directed to staff.
According to a November 2025 Pinal Post report, the city has been operating two monthly groups focused on homelessness since the urban camping ordinance took effect on October 1, 2025 — the CG Helps Coalition and the Unsheltered Person Action Committee. The city’s Unsheltered Initiative page states that no designated space has been secured, though the city continues to explore options away from residential areas but close to essential services.
