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Committee hears ECDA overview: continuum-of-care gaps, uncertain shelter capacity and dwindling hotel vouchers
Summary
ECDA staff told the Community Development Committee the regional Continuum of Care has capacity gaps across shelter, rapid rehousing and family services, local shelters’ operating status is variable, and hotel voucher availability has largely run out.
Barbie Watson, ECDA director, asked staff to present a general overview of homelessness services in the region and the Kankakee area during the committee's May 5 meeting.
The update matters because committee members said they should understand current shelter capacity and funding gaps before recommending systemwide strategies and municipal cost-sharing.
"We have a lot of gaps in the, what we call, the continuum of care services," said Marlena (staff member), summarizing work to map services and identify gaps for families, veterans and people experiencing long-term street homelessness. She said the Continuum of Care (CoC) leadership recently transitioned to the Center for Human Services and that local coordination has improved since the transition: "Since this transition has happened, this leadership has been way more accommodating, way more communicative."
Marlena said the regional CoC spans 11 counties and that locally a HUB CoC (Kankakee and Iroquois County) meets monthly. Staff reported specific gaps in services for large families: "We don't have any locations or shelters that are able or equipped to serve such large families," she said, and a Regional Office of Education representative said 40 more children had entered homelessness since the previous monthly meeting.
Committee members raised questions about emergency-shelter capacity. ECDA staff said some options vary day to day: Fortitude operates an emergency shelter some nights, Harbor House availability fluctuates, and staff had not received a clear update about the operational status of Gift of God shelter. Marlena said, "We've been trying to get clarity on that for the last couple weeks, and we don't have an answer about Gift of God." She added that some organizations had stopped attending CoC meetings and that HUD technical-assistance funding had been eliminated.
On hotel vouchers, a committee member asked whether vouchers remain available for short-term placement; staff answered that as of the most recent CoC meeting, "no organization expressed having any hotel vouchers available." Marlena said many voucher programs are state funded and those cycles often restart in July, making supply seasonal.
ECDA staff described ongoing efforts: an asset-mapping of local providers, participation in a weekly "binding list" that reviews individuals by name, and work on a "shelter funding strategy" to align grant applications, reduce barriers and propose collaborative leadership. Watson said the city team would take a leadership role in coordinating and helping smaller agencies navigate funding and reporting requirements.
No formal motions were made; staff said they will continue outreach to Fortitude and other providers to get operational timelines and will return to the committee with mapping and funding-strategy work for consideration.
