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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 11-01-94-X-B 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda IterrIeNo. ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: November 1 , 1994 SUBJECT: Report - Emergency Family Shelter and Support Task Force Feasibility Study DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC HEARING: Yes X No Commission for Women ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT: . Task Force Feasibility Study Lucy Lewis , ext 2251 (under separate cover ) TELEPHONE NUMBER: Hillsborough - 732-8181 Chapel Hill - 968-4501 Durham - 688-7331 Mebane - 227-2031 PURPOSE: To receive a report from the Emergency Family Support and Shelter Task Force and consider the areas for assistance addressed to the Board of Commissioners . BACKGROUND: The Orange County Homeless Women and Children Task Force presented a Community Report and Recommendations to the County Commissioner in May 1993 , including a recommendation for a task force to explore the development of a family shelter in Orange County. On January 4 , 1994 , the Board of Commissioners passed a resolution establishing an Orange County Emergency Family Support and Shelter Task Force . The Task Force was charged with studying the issues related to emergency family support and shelter, and developing a proposal to address this need . Task Force members identified the issues which needed to be studied, including : demographics and projected need, service models for addressing this need, construction options, costs , location, service delivery, organizational and administrative options , and transportation. Subcommittees were formed to study each of these issues, and asked to develop options and assessment criteria for these issues where appropriate. The Task Force determined that there is a critical need for shelter and support for homeless families and for battered women and their children, an overlapping population. In the first nine months of 1994, the Inter-Faith Council has served 54 families and 72 children . Given these figures, 72 families and 100 children are expected to use the IFC Community House this year, and an equal number of families 2 and children will be turned away for lack of space. In addition, Orange Congregations for Mission reports seeing 3-4 families per month needing emergency shelter in the northern end of the county. Community House was originally intended for single individuals, and although it strives to provide the best possible care for children, it is not an appropriate environment for families. The Orange-Durham Coalition for Battered Women currently refers local women to the Durham facility, but a strong need exists for a facility in Orange County. The Coalition provided shelter for 29 women and 24 children from Orange County in 1993; many of the Orange County women that should be referred to the Durham facility are unwilling or unable to leave the county due to lack of transportation to jobs and schools . The Task Force determined that the optimal design for meeting the needs of homeless families, including battered women and their families, is a transitional residential facility. This shelter would: . Be operated as a collaborative project between the Inter- Faith Council and the Orange-Durham Coalition for Battered Women. • Provide shelter and support services to 12-15 families at any one time. . Allow families to stay up to 6-9 months as they develop a plan to meet their continuing needs. • Be constructed in three individual housing units servicing 4-5 families within each unit. The units would be linked by shared space for service delivery and a play area for the children. . Require approximately 3-5 acres of land. • Have a construction cost of approximately $275 , 000 per 3 , 300 square foot unit, without land costs . • Be sited on a busline. . Need regular countywide transportation services for residential families . • Necessitate the cooperation of community public and private nonprofit agencies in the development and delivery of a comprehensive array of human services . . Require ongoing operational funding that could be secured from a combination of federal , state, and local governmental units and the contributions of private individuals and funding agencies. This model provides the greatest chance for the desired outcomes of appropriate services for children and self- sufficiency for the residents. RECOMMENDATION(S) : The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report as information and consider the requested areas for assistance addressed to the Commissioners.