A permanent, low-barrier homeless intake center has been on the city of South Bend’s wish list dating back to when Pete Buttigieg was mayor, but public opposition has previously caused city officials to table the idea.
But a low-barrier center — where the houseless are immediately given shelter before receiving services for mental illness and substance abuse — has been a goal of current Mayor James Mueller and Monday night saw a big step toward creating such a center when the South Bend community school board voted to sell a 5-acre parcel of land to the city.
That land is currently part of the corporation’s school bus garage on the northwest side of the city off of Bendix Drive but the land the city is eyeing has been vacant for decades.
South Bend’s Director of Community Investment Caleb Bauer said the city likes the site since it’s on a bus route and there are a few grocery stores nearby.
“This has been a challenge to locate the intake center. You may recall a number of years ago there were attempts to place it elsewhere in South Bend,” Bauer said. “No site is perfect, but we believe this is a good site.”
The city is offering to pay around $275,000 for the lot, though construction would still be a long way off as the city is working with the nonprofit Our Lady of the Road and they will need time to fundraise for the project.
Our Lady of the Road also helps run the Motels4Now program in the Knights Inn off Lincoln Way West and is creating a new nonprofit label to help run the proposed center. The intake center, which officials have called New Day, figures to be a public-private partnership, though a city spokeswoman on Tuesday did not say how much money the city is committing to the project.
In his presentation to the school board, Bauer referenced a task force put together by then-Mayor Pete Buttigieg that in 2017 recommended the city look to build a low-barrier homeless intake center under the "housing first" standard of care. That philosophy differs from the Center for the Homeless and Hope Ministries, which require individuals not consume drugs while on the premises.
Previous attempts by the city to build a similar shelter in the southeast portion of the city failed due to considerable opposition from nearby residents and businesses. The city hasn't made a major push for such a center in the years since. The Motels4Now program that sprung up during the COVID-19 pandemic is serving as that intake system now, Bauer said, but it's not a long term solution.
"There has been some significant operational progress made at that site," Bauer said. "But it's a motel. It's not built for serving individuals who are dealing with mental health crises, substance abuse challenges, while this would be a purpose-built facility."
South Bend school board members Jeanette McCullough and Mark Costello voted against the sale, saying there are plenty of other places the city could build the center. The vote passed 4-2, with Kate Lee and John Anella pointing out that the school corporation has a lot of property it doesn't use, including the bus depot.
"As a public school corporation that serves the children of families that often aren't stable, this is the type of intake center that can help stabilize families which then ends up serving our children better," said Lee.
The sale of the land will still need to be approved by the South Bend Redevelopment Commission.
