CDBG will be talking about this on tonight at the city, Homeless Issues Committee will be talking about it on Tuesday. So, here’s my list of gaps, what am I missing?
GENERAL
Daytime warming spaces
– on holidays (Thanksgiving, Friday after Thanksgiving, Xmas Eve, Xmas Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day) and other days when the churches close
– on Sunday’s before 1:00 in the winter (when the library opens)
– on snow days with no buses running
– on extreme cold weather days when businesses and schools close
– for the people with the 145 bans at the downtown library since it opened, what happens to banned persons
– for persons banned from Bethel or the City-County Building
– Medical shelter/resting areas
Transportation
– 125 people can’t be transported to Hospitality House daily with one van
– Van doesn’t run on weekends
– Van is unpredictable in its timing and destination
– Van is not wheelchair accessible
Night time shelter
– Wet house
– Medical shelter
– Shelter for people with anxiety, ptsd and other illnesses that make it difficult to be in crowded, closed spaces without windows
– Shelter for people with 2nd and 3rd shift job – places to sleep past 5:30 in the morning.
– Shelter for those banned by the shelters, or restricted by bail, probation or parole conditions
– Shelter for those who have run out of days and not found housing (men – 60, women – 60, families 90 annually/180 lifetime)
– LGBTQ and transgendered welcoming facilities
– People on probation and parole required to stay in shelter but out of days
– Couples shelter
– Emergency kits for those turned away from shelter (blanket, water, snack, hat, gloves, socks)
Basic services
– Laundry on days other than Tuesday and Friday 9 – 1
– Showers
– Porta-potties
– Food on days when Luke House is closed
– Storage is closing on October 15th
– – daily access facilities
– – long term facilities
– Phones for when people are out of minutes or to conserve minutes or for those without phones
– Access to cheap haircuts, shaving and grooming needs
– Help getting I.D., birth certificates and social security numbers
– Access to food pantries (denied without an address)
– Place to cook your own food
– Private spaces, time to be alone
Medical Issues
– Emergency mental health services or mental health first aid
– AODA beds available when ready (not just Monday at 9am)
SINGLE WOMEN SPECIFIC
No overflow when full
– What happens when more than 30 women show up? They get turned away unless it is a cold weather night.
– Even on cold weather nights, what if more than 35 or 40 people show up?
– If women get turned away due to the lottery, there is little time to plan where to sleep (alone?) for the evening
FAMILY SPECIFIC
Warming house turns away families
Babies are only prioritized up to 4 months old
Have to leave 4 hours per day, even in most cold weather
Sex offenders with families
YOUTH (UNDER 18) SPECIFIC
Shelter
