Task force seeks way to help homeless

A plan for dealing with Lawrence’s homeless population will need to be broad enough to encompass a variety of people with varying problems, members of a city task force are finding out.

“I think we can build (a program) for different types of homeless and find out where the gaps are,” Jim Schneider, a member of the task force, said during a meeting Tuesday at City Hall.

The 17-member task force, formed earlier this year at the direction of Mayor David Dunfield, is compiling its subcommittee reports before pulling together a final plan to present next year to the mayor.

One of those subcommittee reports has identified key issues and goals that would need to be addressed over a 10-year period. Among the report’s findings:

  • Lawrence has no coherent, communitywide philosophy for delivery of services to people who are homeless.

Several cities studied have competing services and approaches to homeless issues. Thus, subcommittee members concluded, there needs to be a unified policy that ties food and shelter to rehabilitation.

“There is no rehabilitative program in place in Lawrence,” task force chairman Mike Rundle said. Rundle also is a city commissioner.

“Some people don’t want to be rehabilitated,” said Rich Forney, a task force member who heads the Salvation Army’s homeless shelter.

  • Provide direction to police in dealing with people who are homeless.

Other task force subcommittees are surveying local agencies about needs for dealing with people who are homeless, how much a comprehensive program might cost and funding sources, and developing centralized data systems.

The next task force meeting will be at 4 p.m. on Nov. 18.