Fresh Start Emergency Shelter asked the Junction City Commission on Monday for $45,000 to be included as a potential line item in the city’s 2026 budget to sustain the shelter’s day services and staffing.

The request, made by Debbie, executive director of Fresh Start Emergency Shelter, came during a public presentation in which she described current operations: “We are open as a day shelter offering meals and food, laundry,” and asked the commission for continued local support while the shelter awaits a decision on a pending Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The board’s context: why it matters

Board members said local, predictable funding helps the shelter retain experienced staff and provide continuity of case management that they said is essential to helping people exit homelessness. Meredith Butler, a board member, said the group has recruited volunteer and paid staff with lived experience and is developing a strategic plan and fundraising activities to reduce reliance on one-time donations.

Most important details and supporting facts

- The shelter asked for $45,000 as a possible 2026 budget line item; that figure was presented to commissioners as a request, not as a formally approved appropriation. The city did not vote to grant the amount at the meeting.

- Debbie told commissioners the shelter currently operates Monday–Friday and provides meals, showers, laundry and case management; she said staff sometimes help clients appeal Social Security disability decisions and assist with landlord negotiations.

- Board member Ed Savage described case management as the shelter’s central function and said when the shelter formerly operated 24/7 it averaged about 23 people per night. He argued that overnight service without case management would not accomplish the same outcomes.

- The board said an overnight, full-year operation would need “a little over double” the local requests and referenced a one-year budget figure the presenters described as roughly $276,000 to operate 24/7; the board said the day-shelter annual projection is about $101,132. The presenters characterized those numbers as budget estimates developed for grant planning but noted the ESG award was not yet known.

- Commissioners asked for more detail and suggested the shelter hold a town-hall or community meeting (the board said it planned one in July or August) and then return with a defined strategic plan and clarified funding needs before the commission takes a formal budget decision.

Commission response and next steps

Commissioners expressed sympathy and support for the shelter’s work but also asked for a clearer plan and a community-engagement step before committing recurring city dollars. One commissioner recommended the organization come to the commission’s July 8 budget session to present its request alongside other community funding requests.

No formal appropriation or vote on the $45,000 request occurred at the meeting. Commission staff said the shelter may be added to materials for the upcoming budget session so commissioners can consider the ask when they review other line items.