Housing Authority requesting $50,000 from county to aid homeless families

On Wednesday, Douglas County commissioners will consider a request from the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority for $50,000 out of the county’s 2015 budget to be used to create a special transitional housing fund closely resembling the federal program already in place in Douglas County.

Currently there are more than 50 homeless families waiting for federally-funded transitional housing assistance meant to help them get back onto their feet. About 17 of those families are currently living in the Lawrence Community Shelter, and the rest are staying wherever they can, said Shannon Oury, Housing Authority executive director.

“They’re scrambling around trying to figure out how to solve a really basic need because there aren’t a whole lot of options in the community,” Oury said. “They’re living at the Clinton Campgrounds; you have people living in unstable and precarious housing situations waiting until we can get them housing. And we always have more demand than we have supply.”

The problem isn’t a lack of homes or a lack of landlords willing to work with the Housing Authority, said Douglas County Commissioner Nancy Thellman. The problem is a lack of money, exacerbated by rapidly decreasing federal funding.

The new line of funding, however, will prioritize families currently living in the Lawrence Community Shelter, Thellman said.

In August, the city of Lawrence approved $100,000 for the program out of its 2016 budget, Thellman said. Wednesday’s request would help jump-start the process this year.

Through the program, families in need pay what rent and utility bills they can while subsidy payments for the rest are sent from the Housing Authority directly to the landlords and utility providers for a two-year period, Thellman said. During that time the families will also take advantage of mandatory “wraparound” services to help them become more self-sufficient. Those services are offered through area organizations such as Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, Willow Domestic Violence Center and Independence Inc., to name a few.

The transitional program has an 83 percent success rate, Oury said in August.

An important part of ensuring a level of success among participants is that two-year period, Oury said.

“These families have not had stable housing for a while and there is a process of learning how to be a good renter, a good tenant and getting some of those issues that they might have taken care of,” she said. “At the end of the 24 months, if the household has been successful in completing that time period, we issue them a regular Section 8 voucher so they can stay where they are and their kids can stay in the school district and everything.”

If commissioners approve the funding, about five families living in the shelter might receive aid through the program, Thellman said, but because the size of each family is not constant it’s not immediately clear how far the $50,000 will stretch. Regardless, the move would be a step in the right direction, she said.

While the request is a significant amount of money, Thellman said it’s important to remember that families staying in the shelter are still doing so at a cost.

“Keeping a family at the homeless shelter is not free, and all the services they receive there are just as expensive, possibly more expensive,” she said. “There’s an expense either way. The question is how do we bring people out of homelessness? We do that best by putting them in homes and providing services.”

Because transitional housing programs are so effective, Thellman said she hopes to see Wednesday’s request approved and the funding become an annual expense for the county.

County Administrator Craig Weinaug said the county does currently have the wherewithal to fund the request.

“Built into the budget this year was a little bit more flexibility than usual to consider pressing community requests that might come up that weren’t planned or anticipated,” he said. “So we do have enough flexibility in the budget if the commissioners choose.”

If the request is approved, Oury said the Housing Authority is prepared to start issuing families housing vouchers almost immediately.

Also on Wednesday, commissioners will consider exempting the Douglas County Fairgrounds from certain alcohol restrictions and consider a one-year extension for a conditional use permit for Public Wholesale Water Supply District #25.

County commissioners meet at 4 p.m. each Wednesday in the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. The meetings are open to the public and a full agenda is available online at www.douglascountyks.org/commission/meetings.