ACTION REQUESTED:
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Communication from the City Manager and the Community Development Director for the Following:
A. APPROVE a Contribution of $63,860.00 to the HEART OF ILLINOIS UNITED WAY to Provide Partial Funding for a Day Drop-In Center to Provide Services to the Local Homeless Population, and,
B. ADOPT an ORDINANCE Amending the City of Peoria 2016/2017 BIENNIAL BUDGET Relating to the Use of the GENERAL FUND BALANCE.
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BACKGROUND: Since the early 1990s, a day drop-in center has provided services and shelter to the local homeless population. The drop-in center was initially managed by the YWCA, and for the past few years by the Salvation Army.
Funding for the Salvation Army drop-in center ended during the summer of 2016. Since that time, the local homeless population has not had a formal and scheduled location to spend the daytime hours. As such, the number of homeless individuals spending the day in the downtown library branch, in various homeless encampments around town, in the Civic Center, and in various local businesses has significantly increased. The lack of the drop-in center has also eliminated a storage area for belongings, an opportunity for showers, and a centralized mailroom for the homeless population. Typically, the Salvation Army drop-in center would serve over 100 individuals on a daily basis and over 600 unduplicated individuals on an annual basis.
The City has been working with Peoria County, the United Way, the Continuum of Care, and local homeless providers to re-establish a drop-in center before winter. The single largest challenge to the re-establishment is funding. Due to a change in federal homeless policy (the majority of homeless funding flows from the federal government), the opportunity to continue to use traditional funding sources is no longer an option. In concert with Peoria County and the United Way, adequate funding has been identified to re-open the Salvation Army facility for 12 months. The Salvation Army has indicated that they are willing to provide the space and the service if funding is identified. The United Way will manage the monitoring of these funds on behalf of all the partners.
The funding required totals $152,720. The United Way will commit $25,000, the City and the County will commit $63,860 each.
It should be noted that this is a “band-aid” fix and not a long-term solution. Discussions will continue as to the best possible structure for a drop-in center, with the end goal to increase the percentage of homeless individuals that are moved to a permanent housing situation with all of the necessary support services provided to them.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: $63,860 reduction in fund balance.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: Numerous downtown businesses and establishments such as the Peoria Public Library have noted a dramatic increase in the number of homeless persons during the day.
IMPACT IF APPROVED: Assuming funding from Peoria County and the United Way, the Salvation Army Day Shelter will open on November 7, 2016 and for 12 months.
IMPACT IF DENIED: There will be no day shelter for the homeless population in Peoria.
ALTERNATIVES: NA
EEO CERTIFICATION NUMBER: NA
WHICH OF THE GOALS IDENTIFIED IN THE COUNCIL’S 2014 - 2029 STRATEGIC PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION ADVANCE?
1. Vibrant Downtown: Riverfront/ Central Business District/ Warehouse District
2. Attractive Neighborhoods with Character: Safe and Livable
3. Grow Peoria: Businesses, Jobs, and Population
WHICH CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S) FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENT?
1. Reinvest in neighborhoods.
2. Support sustainability.
DEPARTMENT: Community Development