Irving council hears pleas to reallocate ARPA funds, outlines short- and long-term 'clean and safe' steps for downtown homelessness

Several Irving residents and nonprofit leaders urged the City Council on June 25 to redirect federal HOME-ARPA dollars and to pursue longer-term housing solutions for people living outdoors in the Heritage District and other parts of Irving.

At the start of the meeting, Laura Anderson, a resident who identified her address in Irving, told the council the presentation they were about to receive on “clean and safe strategies” was too narrow and did not reflect service-provider input. Anderson asked council members to “place this item on the next council agenda” to consider reallocating $2,000,000 in HOME-ARPA funds now set for a domestic-violence shelter toward homelessness services and to form a homelessness diversion task force including nonprofits, churches, the school district, the Housing and Human Services Board and Irving Police Department outreach officers.

Lana Hansen, founder and executive director of Many Helping Hands, said her organization regularly brings about 40 people a day to its day center for meals, showers and services and urged the council to return the $2,000,000 to homeless services while a longer-term…