Grace Marketplace to reduce homeless services amid looming city budget cuts
Gainesville's top homeless service center announced that it will be forced to scale back the number of people it helps due to its primary source of income cutting funding.
Grace Marketplace fears the city of Gainesville's cost cuts for the upcoming budget will have a significant impact not just on the shelter's property, but citywide. Grace plans to reduce hours, capacity and meals beginning on Oct. 2, officials for the shelter said in a news release.
The cutbacks come at a time when the city is also scaling back its own services due to its $1.7 billion debt and demands from state lawmakers, who berated city leaders about oversight of the municipal utility which will soon be under the control of a board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. In April, elected leaders voted on a plan to reduce debt for Gainesville Regional Utilities by $315 million over the next decade, an impact that was expected to crossover to everyday city services.
“I understand that their backs are against the wall, but I think it's leading them to make some really short-sighted financial decisions,” said Jon DeCarmine, the executive director of Grace Marketplace. “This is not just something they can cut the funding for without seeing consequences in other areas of the community.”
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The Gainesville Sun previously reported that Gainesville was looking to reduce funding for Grace. City leaders have also previously expressed disappointment in Alachua County steering funding away from direct shelter services. The two local governments used to share the cost of Grace until the county began to focus on housing initiatives in an effort to ensure fewer people slept on the streets.
The city has funded $$1.35 million of the necessary $1.5 million needed to operate the shelter. Grace Marketplace is still hoping to relieve $350,000 more from the local government to fund its community outreach program.
The shelter will reduce its hours of operation on campus from 12 to eight hours a day, reduce shelter beds from 100 to 90, and divert unsheltered guests eating breakfast at Grace to the St. Francis House, another Gainesville homeless nonprofit. Historically, Grace has offered meals to anyone who showed up.
Gainesville city commissioners will meet with the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 28 for a special joint meeting where the future funding of homeless services is expected to be discussed.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Grace Marketplace to reduce homeless services due to budget cuts
