A special South Bend subcommittee is recommending the city implement low barrier homeless shelters to help more people get off the street.
During a public meeting Thursday, subcommittee members said traditional shelters are good, but they often have rules requiring sobriety, banning pets or requiring people to leave the facility during the day.
Instead, low barrier shelters try to get as many people off the street as possible by offering 24/7 access to shelter without requirements and providing resources to address substance use disorders and mental health needs.
In addition, they said having a dedicated location will help the overall shelter system by providing a central spot to coordinate supportive housing resources that help people transition out of homelessness.
Members say an ideal shelter would have up to four beds per room to provide privacy, bathrooms, a kitchen, community room, storage lockers, pet crates and dedicated staff members.
Locally, implementation could come through having existing shelters transition to low barrier policies or building a new, dedicated facility.
“You need a site that is zoned correctly,” Housing Matters president Anne Mannix said. “You need one that is located so that people can get to where they need to go or at least get to a bus line, something close to a store would be good, and in our community, we need to find a place where we won’t get a million complaints.”
She says advantages of leasing an existing building, such as what the temporary Motels4Now program is doing, are that it’s quick to set up. But there are also a lot of disadvantages.
“It may not be what you need, you may have to leave,” Mannix said.
In contrast, a standalone shelter can be designed specifically to serve local needs. Operating costs would need some state funding. Adding permanent supportive housing would require more state funding, as well as low income housing tax credits.
According to the 2022 point-in-time count, the city has an average gap of 29 shelter beds. But Mannix said that count includes all the available beds at Motels4Now, so the information can justify funding a new shelter.
“It will take at least 2 to 3 years, if you’re lucky,” Mannix said. “You need a year to get all your money together, your construction plans, and get bids. You also need a year to do the construction, and another year to start it up. There’s no way to do it any faster.”
Mannix said the report’s recommendations include building a low barrier shelter, adding more permanent supportive housing, increasing referrals to supportive services and encouraging existing shelters to adopt some low barrier policies.
The full report is available on the city's website.
Contact Jakob at jlazzaro@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @JakobLazzaro.
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