Human Services
The IFC held the first of three scheduled community discussions tonight. These discussions are designed to facilitate better communications with the community. The meeting began with three short presentations to update everyone on the current status of the planning process and to provide a brief synopsis of the expectations IFC has for the new facility.
The new facility is being designed to serve 52 men on a full-time basis with room for 17 emergency cots on white-flag nights. As Chris Moran said, the Community House will serve as transitional housing for homeless men. Emergency housing will need to be provided through the efforts of the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness group.
The facility is laid out with the first floor devoted to counseling, health and dental services, and other resources to help the residents transition out of homelessness. The second floor provides sleeping/living rooms. The men will start off living in a dormitory-type room with around 10 occupants per room. There are two of the large dorm rooms. As the men progress toward their goals they will step down to a 4-occupant room and finally to a 2-occupant room.
I watched Monday night's public hearing on the IFC's proposed new shelter on Homestead Road with dismay. Every time the IFC identifies an affordable parcel of land appropriate for a new Homestart shelter, the neighbors object. Although the Town Council does a good job of responding to the concerns of neighborhoods, this time we have a pickle. The shelter has to move. It cannot stay downtown and achieve the type of service the town and the IFC want to provide to our homeless male population. To help promote a more positive dialogue, I'd like to propose that we stop talking about "the shelter" and begin discussing the various services currently offered by the IFC and the new proposed services.
The current shelter offers three primary services: overnight beds, job and life counseling, and meals. Those who wish to spend the night at the shelter must be clean and sober, and they have to be inside by 8:00 pm and gone by early morning. Counseling is obviously used by those who desire the service. Meals are available to men, women, and children, whether they stay in the shelter or not. Many of those who use the meal service are the underemployed.
I am new to this Internet community and surprised that there appears to be no conversation about human service needs or human service programs in Orange County. We certainly seem to have many examples of both.
Last month Orange County government sponsored a day long retreat for the directors of all non-profit human service agencies that receive partial funding from the County. The purpose of the event was to facilitate discussion among non-profit leaders regarding the impact of the economic downturn on the non-profit sector and on the people it serves. The organizers hoped that non-profit leaders would discover new ways to anticipate future challenges and to collaborate on common goals. The meeting was facilitated by experts from the UNC School of Government.
I think this meeting was an example of excellent leadership from County goverment. Orange County makes a consideration financial contribution each year to non-profit human service agencies but, this retreat demonstrated a contribution beyond money.
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