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City housing office outlines low-barrier shelter, rapid rehousing and housing-needs assessment
Summary
The Office of Affordable Housing and Homelessness Prevention described ESG funding, a low-barrier shelter run by The Gathering Place Mission, a new rapid-rehousing pilot, a Toyota gift for shelter construction and an in-progress housing needs assessment; a HUD-required annual homeless count is scheduled this month.
Candace, director of Georgetown's Office of Affordable Housing and Homelessness Prevention, briefed the council on recent program developments and new funding at the Jan. 27 meeting.
The office has secured nearly $100,000 from the Kentucky Housing Corporation’s Emergency Solutions Grant to support an emergency-shelter project, a new rapid-rehousing pilot and HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) activities. Candace said the Gathering Place Mission is operating a low-barrier year-round shelter (average about 22 men and 14 women per night) that previously opened only on temperature-based days. The ESG funds will support that shelter and a rapid-rehousing program aimed at helping households exit homelessness quickly.
Candace also described a $125,000 private donation from Toyota to build an additional building on the Gathering Place campus and reported discussions with the Department for Local Government about Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to expand campus capacity. She said the housing needs assessment (analyzed by a consultant) is nearing final goals-and-strategies language and will be presented to council when complete; the research covers demographics, affordability analysis and employer/community surveys.
Candace briefed the council on the HUD-recommended yearly 'k-count' of people experiencing homelessness (the HUD date is the last Wednesday of January) and invited council members to volunteer for the count, which includes a community dinner at the Gathering Place and a street count later that night.
Council members asked for more longitudinal data and the director said better tracking will initially show increases in counts because improved outreach and recording identify people previously missed. Councilors also asked about coordination with the local housing authority and planning staff; Candace said she has been in contact with both and encouraged councilors to reach out to the housing authority's new executive director.
