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Ormond Beach commissioners pledge support to First Step Shelter amid questions about future funding
Summary
City commissioners and shelter leaders discussed the First Step Shelter's outcomes and funding after reports that some commissioners had expressed concerns; commissioners asked staff to prepare a letter of support for the shelter before its next board meeting.
Ormond Beach City Commissioners and local shelter leaders discussed the status of the First Step Shelter and Ormond Beach's partnership with the nonprofit during public comment and later on the dais, and commissioners asked staff to prepare a letter of support to deliver to the shelter’s board ahead of its next meeting.
The discussion began during public comment when Bill Milano, a member of the Ponce Inlet Council and treasurer of First Step Shelter, said he was concerned by a remark at the shelter’s recent board meeting that Ormond Beach might withdraw as a partner. Milano told the commission that in the last five years the shelter has placed more than 900 people in housing, including 88 veterans, and urged the commission to continue funding and partnership.
Victoria Fahlberg, executive director of First Step Shelter, told the commission the shelter has received more than 5,000 law-enforcement referrals, sheltered nearly 1,900 people since opening, and successfully housed 940 people; of those who obtained housing for at least two years, 93 percent remain housed. Fahlberg also said the shelter has placed 88 veterans and cited a 2014 Central Florida Commission on Homelessness study estimating annual system costs associated with one chronically unhoused person at $41,192 (in 2014 dollars).
Commissioners responded during their closing remarks. Commissioner Travis Sargent said he supports the shelter and asked that the commission send a signed letter of support to the shelter board before the shelter’s Monday meeting. Commissioner Kristen Deaton and other commissioners volunteered to sign the letter. No formal vote was taken; staff were asked to prepare the letter and have it ready for the commissioners to sign before Friday for delivery prior to the voluntary board meeting.
Commissioners also emphasized they remain focused on addressing local transient and homelessness issues and said partnership with regional shelter providers is part of that approach. Fahlberg reiterated her openness to provide data and meet with city officials as the budget season approaches.
The commission did not take formal budget action at the meeting; the instruction to prepare a letter of support was a direction to staff rather than a binding appropriation.
