Who Gets To Decide Next Steps on the Day Center

Well . . . as they have said to us . . . United Way does. Why United Way? And why are some nonprofits brought to the table and not others? And why not the elected officials in the area around the day center? Not the neighborhood?

This is an update from staff last week. I admit, the first time I saw this email, I skipped over part of it. What turns out to be the important part. I was interested in WHAT they talked about, not WHO got to be at the table. Which is, in the end, perhaps the most important part.

I wanted to offer a quick summary of the meeting on Monday that was called to revisit issues surrounding the Day Resource Center for homeless persons. The meeting was facilitated by Deedra Atkinson from the United Way. It’s primary purpose, I believe, was to try to redevelop, or develop, a stronger consensus among the parties generally perceived to be the primary funders of this facility – the County, the City and United Way. The group, membership of which I believe was shaped by the County Exec and United Way included representatives from each of those entities (including the Council President and County Board Chair), the engineering consultant working with Dane County on the Messner’s property, and representatives from Downtown Madison Inc. and Catholic Charities.

The meeting focused primarily on the scope of services to be provided at the Center. My sense is that this issue was not very clearly addressed three years ago. As time has passed, people have assigned a broad range of hopes and dreams about what could or should happen there. The scope of services to be provided, and the budget required to support it, have only become less clear.

The group ended with what I would characterize as general agreement that the scope of services is likely to evolve over time, but that it should begin by addressing basic needs – things like showers, laundry, storage space, a housing locator and case management services. As time goes on, the hope is that more robust support services – basic health services, mental health screening, employment services, etc. – would be available. This vision will need further discussion before all parties are completely comfortable with it, and more detail is needed. There is also a need to estimate what this will cost. And there is acknowledgement of the need for public input.

So, I would say a good start. The next meeting is likely to be scheduled on March 3rd or 4th, so Natalie there is some hope that you would be able to participate.

Please let me know if you have questions. I just wanted to provide a brief summary while the details were still fresh. Denise, I’ll rely on you to make any corrections you deem necessary.

I have issues with the way this is characterized. We did address what we wanted three years ago. A COMPREHENSIVE day center. That has not changed. Some people might not want to hear it or believe it, but we want a COMPREHENSIVE day center. To meet basic needs AND be a resource for people. I don’t know why that is so hard to understand or why Lynn Green seems so offended by it. To not have storage in the COMPREHENSIVE day center seems insane to me. Why would you put showers and laundry in a facility and then tell people to walk 6 blocks to get their clothes and toiletries? Something only a bureaucrat could love.

Meanwhile, here’s the letter from the neighborhood.

February 17, 2016

To: Joe Parisi
Dane County Executive

Re: Proposed Dane County Resource Center at 1326 E.Washington Ave.

Mr. Parisi:

The Tenney Lapham Neighborhood Association Steering Committee has been meeting with county representatives to learn more about the proposed Dane County Resource Center at 1326 E. Washington Ave. The Steering Committee has reported to the TLNA Council that the sole operator to respond to the RFP to run the HRC has been rejected and that there are meetings with United Way of Dane County to evaluate the scope of the HRC. The county representatives are not certain that the application for a CUP will be made before an operator has been selected.

The Tenney Lapham Neighborhood Association Council believes that it is important to select an operator for the HRC through an RFP process. Furthermore, it is important to select the operator before the county applies for a CUP at the City of Madison. Only through a clear understanding of the management plans that an operator presents can we evaluate the impact of the HRC on our neighborhood.

We are also concerned that meetings are in progress to discuss the scope of the HRC and that the neighborhood is not a party to these discussions. We request that a neighborhood representative be invited to attend these meetings to best understand the funding levels and potential scope of the HRC.

I look forward to hearing from you about these requests.

Sincerely,
President, TLNA

Cc: Lynn Green Todd Violante Heidi Wegleitner Ledell Zellers Jim O’Keefe
Tim Parks Natalie Erdman Denise DeMarb Sharon Corrigan TLNA Council

So, my elected officials from the city council and county board were left out. The neighborhood association is left out. Advocates who have been working on this for 4 years now have been left out. We don’t even get the chance to ask why homeless people, THOSE MOST AFFECTED, are not included in these discussions. Why? What are they so damn afraid of? Why can’t we be at the table to discuss this thing that is going effect all of us more than them. Why do they need to control this and exclude people? Just what we feared, closed meetings, where everything will get worked out and shoved down our throats when they have the votes at the county board. This sucks.

This is the complete opposite of what their equity tool for racial and social justice says they are supposed to do. But then again, “equity” is a word they trot out when convenient and shove it back in the tool drawer the rest of the time.