(Image source from: azfamily.com)

An innocent homeowner was murdered in March, by a man investigators said was homeless. The crime happened on Willetta Street, a quaint Phoenix neighborhood.

While an arrest has been made, many neighbors remain on edge, as local non-profits said the homeless problem in downtown Phoenix is not only growing but spreading.

“They’re gorgeous homes, they’re expensive homes,” said Lisa Saper-Bloom.

Just blocks away from the Phoenix city skyscrapers, you’ll find the charm and character of West Portland Street, where you’ll find resident Lisa Saper-Bloom.

“It is a phenomenal neighborhood, my husband and I have lived in the Valley for 28, almost 29 years and there’s no place we’d rather live,” said Saper-Bloom.

But this picturesque scene is quickly changing.

“You know Briana, I’ll be honest I never thought I’d be walking with a weapon in my pocket every morning either,” said Saper-Bloom.

Just down the street from Saper-Bloom’s house, Erik Erspamer’s manicured front lawn has now turned into an unwanted bedroom.

"Often I’ll have transients sleeping in my front yard. It’s irritating on a daily basis. The real scary part is the safety issue,” said Erspamer.

For years, the homeless in Phoenix have lived around West Jefferson, an area littered with trash, drugs, and sleeping bags. But representatives with Mayor Greg Stanton’s office said the homeless population is growing and services to help them are dwindling.

Homeowners like Saper-Bloom said transients are now making their way into other neighborhoods like hers, looking for resources as downtown development continues to push them elsewhere. She said she was recently followed by a homeless man for days and when she gave police a description, what she found out was shocking.          

"When I went to identify this person it turns out that this person had beaten a person in broad daylight over on Third Avenue and Culver Street and his name is on a list of names in a homicide case,” said Saper-Bloom.

Come September, St. Vincent De Paul plans to shut its county-funded overflow shelter. That’s 275 beds that will be gone.

By Lokesh