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Junction City High students urge local action on homelessness, outline funding gaps
Summary
Students from Junction City High presented research on local homelessness to the City Commission, highlighted Fresh Start shelter funding shortfalls and urged a community response; commissioners and staff discussed a September town hall and possible committee to coordinate local efforts.
Three students from Junction City High School presented a class project to the Junction City Commission calling attention to homelessness in the district and urging local action. The students said homelessness in Junction City stems from lack of affordable housing, financial instability, mental illness and addiction, and emphasized that community awareness and coordinated public policy are needed.
The students described Fresh Start, the city’s only day shelter, as operating with “little to no proper funding” and said it relies on grants and fundraising. They told commissioners that Fresh Start had sought $120,000 from an ESG (Emergency Solutions Grants) application but received $30,000 or smaller awards in recent cycles, and that the shelter’s most-recent ESG application was denied.
The presentation included students’ review of the city budget and suggestions for reallocating funds, with one student noting a budget line for Rolling Meadows Golf Course approaching $1.2 million in the city’s itemized records. Commissioners and staff asked the students questions about their data and about the number of unhoused students in the district. The students said their count of unhoused students across the district is available online and offered to share their spreadsheet with staff.
Commissioners responded by raising next steps rather than taking immediate policy action. One commissioner said the city should “lead the way” by maintaining and improving Grant Avenue and considering a coordinated volunteer and policy response. The mayor and other commissioners suggested creating a standing committee or working group on homelessness similar to existing ad hoc committees (for example, a bond or streets committee) and encouraged the students to participate. A Commission member said she plans a town-hall event on the topic in September and has already invited local shelter leaders to take part.
No formal resolutions or budget reallocations were adopted at tonight’s meeting; staff were directed to follow up with the student presenters, coordinate a town-hall timetable, and review Fresh Start’s recent ESG application and scorecards.
Local officials and students emphasized that federal and state programs — including HUD programs and ESG funding — exist to address homelessness but that local implementation depends on funding choices and partnerships. Students also referenced housing trust funds as a policy tool to support affordable housing projects.
The exchange closed with commissioners praising the students’ work and encouraging continued engagement between youth, shelter leaders and city staff.
