Since September, United Way of Central Texas has been meeting with local agencies and with the Texas Homeless Network, a non-profit group, to try to resolve problems and to help the homeless become stable and self-sufficient.
The United Way is seeking others who would like to be involved.
At the heart of the meetings has been providing what they call a "continuum of care," transitional housing and services that reach beyond merely "bed and bread" solutions.
Catalyst for the talks began when Temple's primary homeless shelter, Martha's Kitchen, was cited for city health and safety code violations, said Ann Thompson, United Way CEO.
On June 1, Temple's Building and Standards Commission ordered Martha's Kitchen, a 25-year-old homeless shelter, to close its thrift store, kitchen, food pantry and men's dorm. Martha's Kitchen has since reopened.
Nevertheless, on Wednesday night, Martha's Kitchen opened its doors to provide shelter to 63 men and 24 women, some with children.
"As the weather gets colder, our numbers substantially increase," said Ray Severn, Martha's Kitchen board chairman.
He said he and Richard Shaub, Martha's Kitchen executive director, have been involved in the United Way discussions.
Thompson said in a news release, "While Martha's Kitchen was intended to serve as an emergency shelter only, it has defaulted into the position of being a longer, and in some cases, permanent housing facility as a result of the lack of transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and permanent affordable housing in our community.
"We now know that we cannot expect a facility, which is currently designed as an emergency shelter, to serve all the needs of the homeless. In fact, homelessness is a multi-faceted problem, which requires different solutions for the different needs of the homeless, depending on their circumstances," she added.
"I'm real pleased with the direction this has taken," Severn added. "The United Way has excellent leadership. I feel good that they've taken this on as a project to pull the whole community together to get transitional housing. Right now, there is no place for the homeless to go because there is no transitional housing."
United Way has been meeting with the Texas Homeless Network and community leaders and area agencies to determine alternative short-term and long-term solutions.
Bell County is in the center of a statewide problem. The Texas Homeless Network in a 2007 survey estimated the state has at least 45,000 homeless. Of those, 4,235 families with dependent children were either unsheltered or were in emergency shelters.
"Homeless shelter care is no longer what it used to be," Thompson said. "In the past, shelters have provided just a temporary place of refuge including a roof overhead, a place to sleep and three hot meals a day. While shelters are obviously needed in emergency situations, they alone will never solve the problem of homelessness."
They have been using the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development "Continuum of Care" model, which includes a broad-based range of services including shelter, meals, job training, substance-abuse counseling, financial counseling and assistance for the mentally ill. The goal is to help the homeless move into stable housing and self-sufficiency.
However, HUD does not fund prevention, emergency shelter or permanent affordable housing programs. Through its Balance of State program, all of the eligible funding is pooled and different homeless alliances within the state may seek funding for projects or programs not funded by HUD.
However, 60 percent of HUD grants are used for "bricks and mortar" projects, added Thompson, and the rest can go for administrative and other services.
Deadline for applications is Wednesday, Oct. 14. Applying for funds for transitional programs will be Family Promise and Central Texas Youth Services.
Susan Rivera of Family Promise said her organization is applying for transitional housing funds to house 10 families from 18 to 24 months at a time. "We plan to offer intensive case management for the parents and children and identify any barriers to success the family might have." She said they will not know until early next year whether the grant is approved.
Likewise, Steve Wick, Youth Services deputy director and director of counseling, said his organization is reapplying for funds to help homeless young adults ages 18 to 21 who often "fall through the cracks."
Using HUD grants, the Youth Services opened six-unit transitional housing in Killeen in 2008. Youth Services pledged to help six young adults and three children, but wound up helping 16 adults and six children. In its first year, the program has had a 90 percent success rate, he said, with them finding work and becoming self-sufficient.
"This is a very hard age group to serve," Wick said. "They are too old for children's services, but have different needs from older adults. Right now in our county, the median age for financial independence is 26. Some parents support their young adult children until they're nearly 30. So many wind up in prison, or they don't survive - period."
However, the tight HUD application deadline has left some local agencies in the lurch. Salvation Army Capt. Martha Burchett said her agency would not be applying for funds because of the short deadline.
"It takes two weeks just for us to run through the checks and balances with our state and national headquarters. There was no way to finish the process in time for the HUD deadline," she said.
"We realize that the fulfillment of this plan will not come overnight," Thompson said. "It will take a lot of work as well as pulling resources together and obtaining financial assistance. But for now, we are bringing people together, improving the situation at Martha's Kitchen and looking toward a future where homelessness is an addressable issue. We want to do everything possible to provide support to help as many as we can become self-sufficient, productive citizens of our community."
