Yesterday the Town of Madison voted to appeal the Board of Adjustments decision, delaying the Town of Madison (1490 Martin St.) location for a day center. Here is Shine 608’s decision to not continue being strung along.
The Shine Initiative Withdraws from Homeless Day Center Project
MADISON – Yesterday, The Shine Initiative (Shine608, Inc.) notified city and county officials that it is withdrawing from the efforts to open a daytime resource center for people experiencing homelessness in Dane County. A statement addressed to County Executive Joe Parisi and the County Board of Supervisors detailed the reason for this decision and Shine’s conditions for any future involvement in the process.
More than one year after Shine was selected by the county to operate a homeless day center, due to political complications, there is still not a purchased facility, and no solid timeline for the renovations of a facility. Shine has been offering temporary services as a stopgap measure, but the absence of an operating contract has led to precarious employment situations for its staff. In the statement, Shine’s board of directors explained, “We cannot continue to ask our staff to forgo other employment.”
Shine also announced that it would not agree to operate the facility currently under consideration by the county (1490 Martin St.) until the facility had been both purchased and renovated. The statement explained Shine’s belief that operating the new day center programs out of the facility, without renovation, would be neither safe, healthy, nor sufficient for its clients.
Executive Director Sarah Gillmore said, “We continue to believe strongly in the need for a comprehensive daytime resource center to help people avoid and end their homelessness in Dane County. It is in the interest of our staff and the people we serve that we withdraw from this process at this time.”
The organization’s board of directors stated that it would reconsider its involvement if presented with a solid timeline for the renovations and opening date of a facility, as well as an employment and operating contract.
The Shine Initiative was selected by the county to operate the day center in August 2013. No contract was offered at that time, as there was not yet a facility from which to operate the center. There was no day center in winter 2013-‐2014, but Shine staffed temporary warming shelter sites on every holiday during this time. Shine also agreed to provide case management services to homeless people from the new downtown branch of Madison Public Library on a temporary basis, which concluded, due to funding cuts, in August 2014. Shine provided case management services to more than 298 unique individuals.
Moreover, at the request of the county and city, Shine has been managing/operating a storage program for people experiencing homelessness, without any funding for staff or training. Shine staff and volunteers logged more than 5,000 volunteer hours for this service, which will conclude on October 15th due to an unmet need for paid staff.
For more information about The Shine Initiative, see www.madisonshine.org.
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The Shine Initiative’s mission is to expand opportunities for our neighbors to recover from or avoid homelessness.
If I can get the letter that was sent, I will post it here. All I got was the press release.
I look forward to the RFP, since the OM Tiny House Village will have its ribbon cutting in the next month or so, perhaps we should help make the day center happen after 4 years. Or, will the money just be handed to Porchlight to have them do what they have allegedly been doing all along?
LETTER OF EXPLANATION
Mr. Joe Parisi
Dane County Executive City County Building 421
210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Madison, WI 53703Dear Mr. Parisi,
This letter is to notify you that the board of directors and staff of Shine608, Inc. are officially withdrawing from RFP #113066, regarding the operation of a day resource center for the homeless in Dane County. Further, Shine will no longer staff temporary services to the county’s homeless population at Madison Public Library. The following will detail our reasons for this decision and our conditions for future involvement in this project.
Shine608, Inc. was selected by the county to operate the day center in response to the RFP in August 2013. No contract was offered at that time, as there was not yet a facility from which to operate the center. There was no day center in winter 2013-‐2014, but Shine staffed temporary warming shelter sites on every holiday during this time. Shine also agreed to provide case management services to our homeless neighbors from the new downtown branch of Madison Public Library on a temporary basis. We continued to provide these services through August 2014. During this time, we provided case management services to more than 298 unique individuals. On August 12, our staff was given only three days’ notice that funding had been cut and services would be ending on August 15. Three days after that, our staff was offered funding for just over half of the hours they had been providing (a move from 15 hrs/wk to 8.6 hrs/wk).
Moreover, at the request of the county and city, Shine has been managing/operating a storage program for people experiencing homelessness, without any funding for staff or training. Shine staff and volunteers logged more than 5,000 volunteer hours for this service, which will conclude on October 11th due to an unmet need for paid staff.
Now, more than one year after Shine was selected by the county to operate a homeless day center, due to political complications, there is still not a purchased facility, and no solid timeline for the renovations of a facility. Our staff has had to seek additional employment to supplement the 15 hrs/week for which we received funding for library case management services, and faces continual uncertainty regarding their employment because of an absence of a contract with the county. We cannot, in good faith, ask them to continue to forgo other employment. It is a condition of the Board of Directors of Shine608, Inc., and a standard business practice, that an operating and employment contract be in place in order for our staff to resume involvement in this project. Moreover, we would request at least six weeks to review and negotiate any contract offered.
Shine608, Inc. remains committed to the wellbeing of Dane County’s homeless residents, and to helping people avoid homelessness. It is in the interest of the people we serve that we will not operate the facility at 1490 Martin Street until we are certain the county can meet the 14 conditions of the Town of Madison Planning Commission, and that adequate funding is in place. Moreover, we will not operate this facility until renovations have been completed, for three primary reasons:
• Safety concerns: The current facility does not contain a separate and secure area for children and other vulnerable individuals (e.g., survivors of domestic violence). It also does not contain a quiet space – this is an important part of trauma-‐informed care services for people with untreated mental illness or people who have experienced trauma.
• Health concerns: Shine believes in having food available to meet the immediate survival needs of the people we serve, and to reduce the potential for negative behaviors associated with hunger. There is no space in the current facility to prepare and serve meals, nor is there a kitchen sink in which to prepare coffee or other consumables.
• Space concerns: As is, 1490 Martin Street does not have adequate space for people to obtain daytime shelter and wait for appointments with Shine and partner agency staff. There is currently only a small waiting area that can hold about 6 people. At minimum, such a space must comfortably accommodate 40 people in order to meet demand for services. Additionally, the current facility does not have space to install lockers for client use, nor a space for the storage of essential client possessions (e.g., sleeping bags, strollers, walkers, etc.).The above listing represents just a sample of the reasons Shine does not believe the un-‐ renovated facility to be adequate to our clients’ needs.
We continue to believe strongly in the need for a comprehensive daytime resource center for people experiencing and at risk of homelessness in Dane County, and we believe that the Shine 608, Inc. service model will address currently unmet needs in our community. Should conditions change, the board of directors will gladly consider a future RFP and/or contract.
Sincerely,
Mary Blohm, Board President
Whitney Gent, Board Vice President
Sarah Gillmore, Executive Director
