The South Bend Common Council passed a resolution 5 to 4 Monday night calling on Mayor James Mueller to declare a state of emergency regarding homelessness in the City.
The resolution is a plea with Mayor Mueller to quickly address homelessness in South Bend. The resolution also asks City officials to open an emergency homeless shelter.
Residents have been asking for more resources for the homeless in South Bend, like permanent supportive housing and using the former Salvation Army Building as a 24-hour shelter.
South Bend Mayor James Mueller says he’s in support of permanent supportive housing but is also looking at more immediate solutions.
“We are also working with all the service providers and trying to figure out how we might all be able to take different pieces of this and help alleviate some of the concerns as quickly as possible.”
But council member and bill co-sponsor Lori Hamann says she feels action to help the homeless isn’t being taken quickly enough.
Some council members who opposed the resolution say they feel City officials are already doing what they can to address homelessness in South Bend and didn’t feel an additional resolution was necessary.
Contact Annacaroline at acaruso@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @AnnacarolineC16
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