A meeting last month to discuss the possibility of opening a homeless shelter in Brown County has resulted in the formation of the Brown County Home Solutions Coalition to not only move forward with a plan to open a shelter in the area, but to develop a comprehensive program to help the homeless in the area as well as homeless prevention.
A core group has been formed from several local organizations who are already working at some level with those who find themselves homeless or are in jeopardy of becoming homeless. Central Texas Opportunities (CTO), Center for Life Resources, The Ark, Family Services Center, Salvation Army, and Good Samaritan Ministries form this core group and held an informational meeting on Thursday to update other organizations about their progress.
CTO Executive Director Jim Williamson said that one of the big issues with moving forward in opening a homeless shelter and starting a program is funding, and the group has identified a grant that is being pursued.
“One of the funding sources was a grant called Emergency Solutions Grant, ESG, and it used to be called the Emergency Shelter Grant Program,” Williamson said. “This is a federal grant offered to Texas recipients through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.”
The federal grant has been revised to focus more on outcomes and less about specific programs and services.
“One of our biggest challenges right now is timing, Williamson said. “The grant application has to be received by TDHCA by April 10th and that is quite a challenge.”
Williamson said that several local service agencies are applying for the grant together led by CTO and are committed to getting the application turned in by April 9th. He said that although the grant will be an important funding source to implement a homeless program, they will be seeking other funding sources as well. Williamson said that there is a possibility that the grant cannot be secured the first year, but good will come out of just the process of applying for the grant as the agencies better pool their resources to help the homeless.
“It’s not about success or failure; it’s about pulling together the effective program that would best serve the homeless needs in our community,” Williamson said. “This opportunity will also allow us to reexamine our own efficiencies, what strengths does each organization have, and capacities that we can bring. This does provide us with an outstanding opportunity to work even closer together, not just with the homeless but with other areas as well.”
Williamson said that the grant identified four primary areas to implement a successful homeless program that the agencies are looking to implement. Those areas include street outreach, an emergency shelter, homeless prevention, and rapid rehousing.
Williamson said that if the grant is secured, it could help renovate Brown County’s juvenile detention center to use as an emergency homeless shelter which is being offered by the county for the program.
Dion White, Executive Director of Center of Life Resources, stressed the need for a homeless program in Brown County based on current clients they have in the area as well as numbers from other organizations. He also outlined the determination that the group has to make a homeless program a reality.
“We are all about local. We don’t want folks from Austin or San Antonio or Houston to tell us what needs to happen in Brownwood. We know what needs to happen in Brownwood,” White said. “We need to take care of our own. Through this grant, it is a good opportunity, but even if we don’t get the grant, we’re still going to do it.”
Organizers said that they have identified 34 students in Brownwood ISD who are currently considered homeless which outlines the need for a shelter and program.
“We are ready to pour out the heart and soul of what we do,” said Salvation Army Service Center Executive Director Donna Harris.
Harris said that she has been working to get a homeless program started in the area since 1995.
“Homeless in Brownwood is an old issue,” Harris said. “God has given us an opportunity to pull together and to do something that has been needed for many years.”
Good Samaritan Executive Director Angela Bostick echoed those thoughts.
“Previously, the doors haven’t been open,” Bostick said. “In the fullness of time, the doors have been swung wide open and we need to step through those doors in faith, not knowing how it is going to happen but knowing that it is. “
