City of Dallas staff are exploring a pilot program for “temporary housing” for the homeless, but the proposal is facing resistance from some officials, notably Council Member Cara Mendelsohn.
Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) Director Christine Crossley briefed council members on the program during a Tuesday meeting of the Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee.
According to Crossley, the City would partner with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) on the project. While the facility’s management would be paid for by AHF, case management and supportive services for the formerly homeless residents of the facility would be funded by the City to the tune of $3 million.
The facility, a former hotel, was purchased by AHF in January and has 200 units — 152 of which would be designated for “temporary housing.” AHF approached the City with the idea of partnering to use the facility for homeless services.
“Temporary housing” would be available to both the unsheltered homeless living on the streets and those living in shelters. Crossley’s full presentation delivered to the committee can be found here.
The pilot program was questioned by council members and faced resistance from Mendelsohn, who has been vocal on issues of homelessness and the City’s response to this crisis.
Council Member Chad West questioned how this project would fit into the City’s four-track homelessness strategy and whether it was supported by Housing Forward — the local homelessness response nonprofit and lead agency for the Continuum of Care.
Mendelsohn said, “This whole process, again, looks to be upside-down. It looks like instead of doing something very strategic where we’ve got a process of … trying to put shelters in every district, this is again in District 6.”
She noted that The Salvation Army Carr P. Collins Social Service Center, which includes a homeless shelter, is located in District 6 as well. Mendelsohn suggested the OHS is already overwhelmed with its existing projects and should consider selling one of the facilities the City has already purchased to be used as transitional housing for the homeless.
“I think you need to consider selling something. We have projects that are just absolutely languishing,” she said. “In District 1 … we’ve got the Miramar. Maybe it’s time to say, ‘We can’t handle that project and we need to sell it.’”
“We’ve got a Hampton hospital project. The community still doesn’t want it. It is just fraught with problems,” she said. “We do have a responsibility to the people, but having empty buildings — frankly, big empty buildings — is not getting us anywhere.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the City purchased the former Miramar Hotel and a former hospital on Hampton Road with plans to use them as homeless service facilities. However, both projects have remained vacant for years.
Mendelsohn maintained that the OHS should sort out its other projects before launching another initiative.
“I don’t think you have the staff to be able to handle another project,” she told Crossley.
While other council members argued this project would not align with the strategic priorities of the City, Council Member Gay Donnell Willis said the City should be flexible when other opportunities present themselves.
“I’m a big fan of strategy, but sometimes things present themselves that help you get to the outcome that you are wanting, and I think we need to be able to be agile when these things come along,” she said.
The item will return to the Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee for discussion at a future date.
Although the City of Dallas has pursued several homelessness response initiatives, it has yet to employ the “one-stop-shop” strategy of Haven for Hope in San Antonio.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Haven for Hope offers supportive services in conjunction with housing on the same campus. This strategy has been credited with a 77% reduction in homelessness in San Antonio.
The nonprofit’s leadership recently discussed what makes it successful with The Dallas Express co-founder Sarah Zubiate Bennett in the second episode of The Dallas Express Podcast.
Haven for Hope’s “one-stop-shop” approach has polled favorably among Dallas residents. Although Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson recently visited San Antonio’s Haven for Hope campus, it is unclear whether the City of Dallas will consider implementing a similar strategy.
Meanwhile, 75% of Dallas residents believe homelessness and vagrancy continue to be “major” problems throughout the city.
