Rapid City resident urges faith-based support and small-scale shelters; mayor thanks outreach partners after cold snap

Brian Peck, a long-time Rapid City resident who said he has worked with people living on the street for about a decade, urged the council to support community, faith-based approaches to homelessness and described a proposal for insulated, small-scale teepee-style lodging.

Peck cited conversations with local ministers and with staff at Love Inc., and referenced Community First Village in Austin, Texas, as an example of a community-focused approach. “The root cause of homelessness is a catastrophic loss of family,” Peck said, arguing for person-to-person support and discipleship as part of local responses.

Peck described a design he is working on for “a 30-foot insulated teepee” and a lodge with smaller teepees around it, likening it to a campground model that he said excites people he has spoken to. He suggested small secure spaces, such as a car in a church parking lot, can provide short-term shelter improvements over street living.

After public comment concluded, the mayor publicly thanked the police department, fire department, park rangers, JourneyOn, Cornerstone Rescue Mission and the care campus for outreach during a recent cold snap and for participating in cold-patrol efforts to get people to shelters. “We had folks out there looking for people...trying to get them to shelters,” the mayor said, and he thanked partner agencies and churches for communitywide efforts to keep people safe during the cold weather.

The responses recorded at the meeting were acknowledgments and expressions of gratitude; the council did not adopt new policy or funding in response to Peck’s comments during the session.