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Iowa City received $18.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds and has approved $6.4 million in projects to date. In Linn County, which said it didn’t experience the staffing shortage, the overflow shelter has been open since Nov. 15. Over the last several months, half of Shelter House’s direct care staff has been infected with COVID-19, Ralston said. One out of eight direct care staff has had COVID-19 in the last two weeks, she added.
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Faust said renovations are needed and the new building is expected to be occupied later in the year during the next winter season. Despite the challenges of getting the winter shelter open, Ralston said Shelter House has not turned away individuals. She said there has been disinformation in the community indicating there isn’t space available, which is not the case. The Housing First model assists people who are chronically homeless by giving them access to affordable housing with reduced barriers to entry. The winter shelter was full on opening night for the first time, Hayes told the Press-Citizen on a visit to the space during off-hours.
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Shelter House opens second 'housing first' development in Iowa City - The Gazette
Shelter House opens second 'housing first' development in Iowa City.
Posted: Wed, 15 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]
She attributed a rise in the homeless population to measures taken by state legislators, including the abolition of protections for individuals looking to rent with Section 8 vouchers. Christine Hayes, Shelter House's Director of Development and Communications, said the emergency shelter has eliminated several barriers in the past seven to eight years. Using a philosophy based on the idea that everyone deserves housing without barriers — such as a requirement for income or sobriety — the housing advocates are expanding rapidly because they see a great need in the community. Shelter House provides cold breakfast and dinner meals to all residents during their stay. The Center for Law and Social Policy estimates between 22 percent and 33 percent of college students are food-insecure, placing them in the precarious position of having to choose between having enough money for rent or having a meal. College students are famously poor and are included in the homelessness and poverty rate.
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During my time working on this piece, I came to know several individuals, including Kilo, Ashley, and Stykx. I had biked along the Iowa City River Trail multiple times, which goes through that area, but I never explored it on foot. One day in September, I hopped on my bicycle and headed in that direction. Tracy Hightshoe, the city’s neighborhood and development services director, said the landlord risk mitigation fund has been in the city’s plan since 2016 and will now become a reality. Coordinated entry is the “first point of contact for homeless individuals and families,” according to a city memo explaining the program. The county recently closed on the building that will become a permanent homeless overflow shelter in the winter.
STYKX
His forearm displayed a fading tattoo of a yin-yang design a friend had drawn for him. Further down, rusted bracelets and rings appeared to constrict the blood flow to his multicolored painted fingernails. When I asked him about whether he would consider moving into a shelter he shook his head with a smile. I remember their hesitancy in speaking with me when I initially met them, but they opened up after learning I intended to simply understand their daily life.
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For individuals to qualify for residence at The 501 Project, they must meet the Housing and Urban Development definition of chronically homeless, as The 501 Project collects project-based vouchers. Crissy Canganelli, the executive director of Shelter House, spoke to a crowd of Shelter House staff, volunteers, partners, and stakeholders at the construction site on Thursday night. The Gazette has been informing Iowans with in-depth local news coverage and insightful analysis for over 140 years. Support our award-winning, independent journalism with a subscription today. Shelter House will provide on-site case management at 501 Southgate for residents and an exam room for partnering physical and behavioral health practitioners.
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I met up with Stykx again at Shelter House by coincidence on the same day. Stykx looked to be in good spirits despite the dismal weather and seemed optimistic about his current living situation. He admitted that during the past winter storms this month he had moved into Iowa City’s winter shelter for a week or so, but had since moved out. On the day of the fire, I was one of the first journalists at the camp.
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Shelter House to use $1.4 million to address homelessness and evictions - Iowa City Press-Citizen
Shelter House to use $1.4 million to address homelessness and evictions.
Posted: Thu, 12 Jan 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
During their stay at shelter, residents meet with case managers who provide direction to appropriate resources and assist them with the necessary steps needed to secure housing. Since January 2015, Shelter House has opened a Winter Emergency Shelter at a temporary location from December through March. This satellite facility is intended for individuals for whom homelessness has become a chronic condition. With our expanded winter shelter capacity, individuals who would have otherwise been incarcerated or sleeping in encampments, parking ramps and hallways of apartment buildings are instead ensured a safe, warm place to sleep.
The winter shelter also added a behavioral health coordinator with additional training in care and de-escalation. The capacity of the organization's emergency shelter is expanded from 70 to 100 during the winter months, aided by a conditional use permit from the fire marshal. Still, that additional space in the emergency shelter is "a last resort," Hayes said, because it means that both shelter spaces are full, and anyone who arrives will have to sleep on the floor of the lobby at Shelter House. Shelter House broke ground almost two weeks ago on a second Iowa City facility with a mission to provide housing to chronically homeless individuals. Fresh Starts is a professional cleaning and janitorial service that offers full-service cleaning through a professionally trained, fully supervised janitorial cleaning crew.
They met late last summer and started to live together in “Tent City,” but when I first met them they were in the process of moving to a different camp. Additionally, two employees will focus on eviction prevention and housing stabilization. Shelter House will use $204,350 through fiscal 2026 to hire a coordinated entry specialist and also pay for a translation service.
We keep children in school, help adults get back to work, assist people with disabilities to access benefits and health care, and move individuals and families into their own homes. Shelter House provides safe shelter and helps people improve the quality of their lives as they move beyond homelessness. We offer a robust continuum of programs and supports focusing on emergency, stabilization, and long-term interventions in the areas of housing, employment, and mental health recovery.
The three-story building at 501 Southgate Ave., adjacent to Shelter House, has been lauded as a transformational “housing first” effort that will save lives by providing no-barrier housing for 36 men and women. In addition to these services, The 501 Project will have office spaces and congregate areas. Of the four local chronically homeless individuals who agreed to be part of the study, two of those individuals died before Cross Park Place opened. Canganelli recalled the analysis carried out by local agencies to understand the need for a housing-first facility done several years before Cross Park Place opened.
While the holiday deco rations may not be a permanent fixture, it is common to see people sleeping on the Ped Mall benches or asking for money. It can be easy for college students to brush off the topic of homelessness or poverty, but the problem is deeply rooted and affects many of our peers. As I learned during a call with Christine Hayes, director of development at Shelter House, over a dozen individuals were displaced by an eviction at the encampment. Most have housing case managers but still have been unsuccessful in finding housing in the private marketplace.
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