Resident warns county emergency-warming plan falls short as nearly 750 unhoused people remain
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Summary
At the Nov. 10 St. Charles County Council meeting, Amy Robertson said the county has "just under 750" unhoused residents, including children, and urged the council to fund sheltering beyond the current emergency-weather standard and to add the issue to an upcoming work session.
Amy Robertson, a member of the Community Advisory Board who spoke on her own behalf, told the St. Charles County Council on Nov. 10 that the county is falling short on emergency weather response and sheltering for people without homes. "Currently, St. Charles County has just under 750 unhoused citizens," Robertson said, adding that many are children living in vehicles, storage units or extended-stay hotels.
Robertson said the county's five-year emergency-weather plan sets a low threshold—sheltering people only when temperatures fall below 20 degrees after 9 p.m.—and that the county lacks sufficient funds and facilities to house people when conditions meet that standard. "We do not currently have the funding in this county to fund fully our emergency weather response, nor do we have facilities to take our unhoused people to when they reach out," she said.
She told council members she has helped gather donations through social media and asked the council to use their platforms to solicit assistance, to place the issue on a work-session agenda to pursue non‑taxpayer-funded solutions, and to engage community organizations such as Community Council for further input. "I'm also asking you to add this issue to the next agenda, for your work session and really discuss non taxpayer, funded solutions," Robertson said.
In response, a county official said the executive office would request roughly $30,000 in emergency aid for immediate use and that the issue would be discussed at an upcoming session. The exchange did not include a formal vote or structural policy change; council members and staff said the request would move to work-session review.
The county executive's budget presenter later summarized the proposed 2026 budget and noted existing limits on general-fund availability and carryovers for in-progress projects; that presentation framed the administration's caution about funding new or expanded shelter programs without identifying a permanent funding source.
Robertson's remarks were part of a broader public-comment period in which residents raised infrastructure, land-use and public-safety concerns; the council did not adopt an ordinance at the meeting related to sheltering or emergency weather response. The next procedural step, per council comments, is a work-session discussion to consider emergency aid and possible program options.
