Springfield authorizes Homefull contract to run temporary emergency shelter at former fire station

At an added-agenda vote, the Springfield City Commission approved a subrecipient agreement with Homefull to operate an emergency shelter and provide supportive services for single adults and families.

Community Development Director Logan Cobb told the commission the contract makes Homefull responsible for day-to-day shelter operations, intake, case management and coordination of supportive services. Cobb said the agreement was reimbursement-based and that the city would use a variety of funding sources to support operations.

“The total contract amount is a not to exceed amount of $835,758,” Cobb said during his presentation; the agenda packet for the meeting listed a related figure of up to $853,758. Cobb said city staff would make related documents available and that the shelter was expected to begin operations on Friday at the former Fire Station 5 on Commerce Road. He added that the site would temporarily accommodate single men, single women and families under one roof with operational separation and privacy measures in place.

Cobb told commissioners that, as of the morning of the meeting, Shelter Care had 14 single men, and that on Friday there were five single women and four families (including six children) who could be affected by shelter closures. He said staff continued to seek additional, longer-term shelter solutions while using city-owned property to deliver an immediate response without large capital outlays.

Commissioners and staff discussed partnering organizations and the difficulty in finding providers with capacity; Cobb said Homefull was the only large provider able to enter an agreement immediately. The commission voted to approve the subrecipient agreement during the meeting’s consent and added-agenda votes.

City staff said the contract and operations would include efforts to connect shelter guests to housing placement, employment supports and community resources and that reimbursement would be made based on invoices. Staff also said they were pursuing state and county funding coordination, including efforts to secure temporary-assistance-for-needy-families (TANF) dollars to support longer-term services.

The commission’s vote was recorded during the meeting; staff said additional operational details and performance metrics (including exit-to-housing figures) would be provided to the commission as services stabilize.