No Comprehensive, Permanent Day Center this Winter

For the third year in a row, as we head towards winter, there still is no plan for a permanent, comprehensive day center – despite the fact that the county has had 10 months and $695,000 to find a building. Incompetence? Are staff undermining the elected officials? Is there any logical explanation about what is going on?

BACKGROUND
Last fall the county board voted to put $695,000 in the capital budget to purchase a building for a permanent, comprehensive day warming center. The center is to include meals, lockers, showers, computers, programming, laundry, etc etc etc. in addition to be a safe and warm place for people to be. It needs to be large enough, last year the warming shelter had a legal capacity of less than 100, and often there were more than 100 people there.

The county board issues two opportunities for people to bid to assist with this effort which they call an RFP (request for proposals) The first RFP was to find a property. The second was to run the day center. Two people applied for the first. Wiggies and a MARC facility on Lien Rd. The operations only had one application, Shine 608, which is Sarah Gillmore and Z! Haukeness who ran the facility last winter. (Full disclosure, TRC is the fiscal agent for this new non-profit)

I had been hearing rumblings that staff are recommending not to have a facility this fall, they say they tried and just can’t find anything anywhere. They have been saying they just can’t find anything for 10 months and I don’t know how hard they are trying, because they won’t tell us which properties they have looked at. And they have been saying that instead of buying they may have to rent – but that isn’t capital budget money (to buy large items), but on-going operating funds and that they don’t have that money.

Additionally, the county RFP for operating the facility had about $45,000 of city and county money. But the staff keep saying there is no money to run the facility next year, even tho the county board seemed to be understanding that they would annualize that money and put it in next year’s budget. It seems like the staff are trying to put a negative spin on this project at every turn.

THE NEWS
So, several committees and individuals have been inquiring about what is going to happen on a regular basis. The answers were always the same, gloom and doom.

Yesterday, at the Health and Human Needs committee and through several conversations with individuals, we learned that staff are recommending that once again, we put a band aid on the need for a permanent, comprehensive Day Center this Fall. They have no plans to open a permanent comprehensive day center this fall. Instead, what they are proposing is to give the money to current resources like Bethel and Porchlight and that people will be able to use the new library downtown.

WHY BETHEL/PORCHLIGHT/LIBRARY PLAN WON’T WORK
SPACE! The warming center regularly had 125+ people per day there. Bethel can host maybe 50 – 60 and it would be cramped. Porchlight can’t really comfortably hold more than 20 – 25. That would leave 40 – 55 for the library IF the homeless population hasn’t grown in the last year, and we all know it has. I’m not sure that is going to work.

TRANSPORTATION! If Hospitality House is going to work, they need more transportation there. Currently there are only about 20 people per day who get a ride from downtown, and when you get there, they give you a two-ride ticket to get back and go wherever you need to go to search for jobs or housing. That is one of the main reasons the facility isn’t used – beyond space and silly rules and no computers etc etc etc.

RULES! My understanding is that when people go to the hostility house they have to leave by noon to prove that they are looking for jobs. So, you’re not allowed to stay there to be warm anyways.

NOT FAIR TO THE LIBRARY! ‘Nuff said, right. I mean, the library is working hard to be a welcoming facility for everyone. The computers there will be a great use, and many people do like to sit and read and that will be great for those purposes, but what about all the other resources people need – the programming that the day center provided – the library can’t be expected to do all that.

AMENITIES – LOCKERS, SHOWERS, LAUNDRY! Bethel has a nice computer lab. Hospitality House has one computer. The library, of course, will have a nice computer lab, but the use will be limited tho better. But none of these places will have lockers, showers, laundry, etc. All the things that were promised to be solved by a permanent comprehensive day center.

MEALS AND OTHER RESOURCES – DUPLICATION OF SERVICES! The day center had MANY agencies that stopped by for hours or dropped of materials and resources. Now, instead of having one place to do a 4 hour shift each week, those agencies will have to provide services to three different locations, or more. Additionally, the programming that occurred at the center AA meetings, poetry club, knitting, yoga, spiritual classes and much much more would also have three places to try to coordinate with. Just the logistics of getting donations of clothing and other items that people need would be done through three locations is a nightmare and finally, will all three locations have lunch and snacks? Finally, part of what HUD is requiring us to do is have a “coordinated intake” for homeless services and it made a whole lot of sense to provide those services with staff at the day center – but if they have tocover 3 or more locations, that seems to dilute the intent of that as well.

DON’T RUIN BETHEL! When I told some of my friends about this last night, they looked horrified, but not for the reason you might think. The first words out of their mouths was that Bethel can’t do this, it would ruin everything that makes Bethel a success. People feel safe there and love the homeless support group and there just isn’t room for all the people that used the warming center. They said they would stop going there and they were very sad. They love the idea of expanding the hours to Mondays and Fridays (currently it only operates T – R) but there just isn’t room there and because it is the downtown location that is where everyone will want to go.

LEGALITIES/TRANSPARENT FUNDING PROCESSES – Um, Porchlight and Bethel didn’t apply for funding to run the day center, so how can they get the money? What about the qualified proposal? You can’t go out to bid and have a qualified applicant and just give the money to someone else!

MOVING BACKWARDS! All the work and progress on collaborations that was made at the warming center last year is eroding over the summer and we need to move forward with the momentum that was created with the successful program last winter. The expectations of the community using the services was changed to a new model, that model will disappear by doing the same old thing that isn’t working.

Grrrr . . . those are my thoughts off the top of my head, I didn’t spend my days at the day center last winter because I have a day job, so I am sure I am missing all kinds of other issues that should be raised.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
If you think this isn’t right, if you think the county should do what it said it was going to do, please do any or all of the following:

1. Attend the Rally at 6:00 followed by the Homeless Issues Committee meeting at the City-County Building (210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd) on Tuesday, August 13th at 6:30.

2. Email your county board supervisor and let them know you want to know why the staff have not spent the money they have authorized. Demand that a comprehensive, permanent day resource center be opened this fall! county_board_recipients@co.dane.wi.us

3. If you notice any buildings that you think would be appropriate for a day center, let Lynn Green know! Green@co.dane.wi.us (also, post below!)

4. Join the facebook event.

5. SCREAM, YELL, DEMAND BETTER FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, ELECTED OFFICIALS, CITY AND COUNTY STAFF – LET THEM ALL KNOW THIS IS UNFREAKING ACCEPTABLE AND EMBARRASSING TO OUR COMMUNITY.