On a night when temperatures fell well below freezing, Lawrence city commissioners approved a funding request designed to make sure homeless residents always have a place to go.

At their meeting, city commissioners unanimously approved a $41,330 request from the Coalition on Homeless Concerns. The funding would be used by three organizations — the Salvation Army, Lawrence Open Shelter and Community Drop-In Center — to provide service during hours when they have historically not been open.

The funding will ensure that at least one service provider for the homeless is open at all times, said Steve Ozark, co-chairman for the Coalition on Homeless Concerns. He said the funding would keep the program running through 2005.

“Really, I would ask who would not benefit by having 24-hour, seven-day per week coverage?” Ozark said. “If this funding doesn’t happen, we’ll have more people wandering the streets.”

The three organizations received from city commissioners a total of $11,610 in August to fund the program through the end of this year.

City commissioners said they were reluctant to approve a full-year’s worth of funding for the service because the city’s Task Force on Homeless Services hasn’t yet delivered its report on how to comprehensively address the homeless issue. Commissioners originally had recommended that the program be funded only for three months at a time.

But Ozark said the task force had strongly endorsed the concept of ensuring at least one service provider was open at all times. He also said hiring staff members and planning would be difficult if future funding was so uncertain.

Commissioners backed off of their request to fund only a partial year of the program but said they hoped to have a more comprehensive plan approved to address homeless services by this time next year.

“I hope that in 12 months we have not only a task force report but are off to a really good running start to implementing a plan,” said City Commissioner David Schauner.

Tami Clark, retiring director of the Community Drop-In Center, said all service providers were hoping for the development of a comprehensive plan. But Clark said the current programs needed funding in the interim.

Clark said in addition to providing homeless residents a place to go, the program provided 774 hours of counseling services to homeless residents since September.

“That was 774 hours of us moving forward instead of just standing still,” Clark said. “This funding was critical tonight.”

City commissioners said they realized Tuesday’s request likely would not be the last money they would spend on homeless programs. The draft report from the task force has several potentially costly recommendations, including new shelter options, funding for a team of case managers, re-establishment of an inpatient mental health unit in the community and increase in the number of permanent and transitional housing units in the city.

“To solve this problem, we’re going to have to put a lot more money into it than what we have done,” said City Commissioner Boog Highberger.

The task force will be taking public comment on its draft plan at 5 p.m. Jan. 11 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1245 N.H.

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