Shelter House leaders told Iowa City commissioners at a recent meeting that the local unsheltered population has increased and that limited affordable, low-barrier housing — not lack of client interest — is the central obstacle to moving people inside.

Sam Brooks, emergency services program manager for Shelter House, said the shelter’s street-outreach team enrolled 291 unduplicated individuals in 2024 and that 90 of those people “transition[ed] from the street outreach program into permanent housing,” while 167 moved into other positive housing destinations such as staying with friends or family or entering long-term care.

The numbers, Shelter House staff said, understate the full scope of homelessness because they cover only people enrolled in the shelter’s homeless-management system. Brooks also reported that the point-in-time count on a January night found 38 people sleeping outside in the community, up from 24 the previous year, and that 35 of 38 said they would move into an available apartment that night.

Nut graf: The presentation framed the problem as a supply and systems issue rather than a lack of client willingness. Shelter House described a trauma-informed, “housing first” outreach model that provides supplies and connections to rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing, but staff said landlords’ screening practices, lack of affordable units, and limited behavioral-health capacity make timely exits from homelessness difficult.

Shelter House staff described how the outreach model works and what the community currently offers. Brooks said outreach focuses on “meeting folks where they’re at” — congregating sites such as meal programs and the public library — and that outreach provides life-saving supplies (tents, sleeping bags, propane heaters, seasonal clothing) and referrals into coordinated entry, rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing.

Erin Sullivan, director of programs for Shelter House, explained the agency’s view of chronic homelessness and housing interventions: HUD’s definition typically includes people who have been homeless 12 months or longer and who have a disabling condition; she said those individuals often need permanent supportive housing rather than short-term rental assistance. Sullivan said that rapid rehousing is a short-term intervention (typically up to 12 months) while permanent supportive housing supplies ongoing case management that yields much higher retention rates.

Shelter capacity and operations details: Shelter House operates an emergency shelter at 429 Southgate that the agency described as a 70-bed facility that can expand by permit to serve up to 100 people; a winter shelter at 340 Southgate operates overnight (about 5 p.m. to 8 a.m.) from December through March and functions as an open-barracks overflow, typically serving 40–50 people on high nights. Staff emphasized the difference: the winter shelter is an open dormitory with limited privacy, while 429 Southgate includes dormitory and smaller private rooms and family bedrooms.

Staff and commissioners raised barriers that slow housing placements. Sullivan and Brooks said landlords increasingly require two to three times the rent in documented income and in some cases do not count Housing Choice Vouchers as qualifying income. Sullivan also cited longer landlord reference requirements and criminal-history screening as common obstacles. Shelter House staff said average shelter stays have lengthened since the pandemic — from roughly 35–40 days pre-pandemic to about 90 days recently — driving slower bed turnover and reducing flow from shelter into housing.

Chrissy, executive director of Shelter House, described two data-driven initiatives the agency is funding to improve system performance. One partners with the national nonprofit Corporation for Supportive Housing to analyze homeless-management information and cross-system contacts (hospital, jail, emergency services) with the aim of producing recommendations to achieve functional zero (placing more people into housing in a 30-day period than enter the system). The second contract is with Brillgent, a health-technology group, to explore data-sharing and matching across health and housing partners.

Chrissy also raised the agency’s short-term funding challenge: “Our current gap for emergency shelter alone this year is over $700,000,” she said, adding that Shelter House has used reserves to seed the data projects but cannot fill ongoing operational shortfalls without community or public funding.

Commissioners asked operational questions about staffing and services. Shelter House said it currently has one street-outreach and engagement specialist (Darren), two lead service coordinators at the emergency shelter (Maya and Kelly) and a behavioral-health coordinator who works with shelter guests. Brooks said permanent supportive housing retention is high when people are enrolled in that program; the agency estimated retention around 95 percent for permanent supportive housing participants.

On immediate service improvements, staff reported two items: the city has approved partial funding (50 percent from the city) for an on-site portable toilet at the shelter site, and staff said they will provide commissioners with the needs-assessment recommendations from the Corporation for Supportive Housing work when available. City staff also said they would check local regulations on camping or encampments and report back; Shelter House staff noted that the Iowa Legislature considered bills that would have criminalized aspects of homelessness but that proposed measures did not leave committee this session.

The meeting included a public discussion of private-property concerns. Tim, a senior housing inspector, said the city discusses individual encampment complaints in a multi-department meeting and that Shelter House is a regular partner in trying to identify safer options. Shelter House staff said their primary role is support and engagement rather than enforcement; they will advocate for individuals if formal removal or enforcement actions occur.

Ending: Shelter House asked commissioners to avoid cuts to aid-agency funding under consideration by the city and to await the formal recommendations from the ongoing needs-assessment and data-sharing projects before making strategic funding changes. Staff said those reports will inform any later requests for increased city support or targeted investments to expand low-barrier housing and case-management capacity.