Homeless Task Force hears 'firehose' of info from Sioux Falls organizations
Sioux Falls' Homeless Task Force spent their first meeting getting what chair Rich Merkouris called a "firehose" of information from organizations around the city.
The 13 members of the task force will use it, and the rest of the information they'll gather over the next few months, to bring between two and four recommendations or budget items that could reduce homelessness in the city before the Sioux Falls City Council and Mayor Paul TenHaken.
Merkouris emphasized as the meeting began that the task force was not intended to write a "50-page strategic plan," or actively write policy.
Speakers didn't hold back — Union Gospel Mission CEO Eric Weber said hundreds of apartments were being built in the city, but rents at many of them were up near $1,100.
"Where is the low-income?" Weber asked.
Madeline Shields, the executive director of the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House, said the shelter was "over capacity every single night," an issue that was only going to worsen as the weather got colder.
The city needs a guaranteed referral system, she said — with a maximum capacity of 155 under city fire code, they need to know what to do with guest number 156, especially when sending someone away could be "a death sentence."
More: Police calls for service at Bishop Dudley Hospitality House have tripled in the past five years
She suggested more efficiency apartments in the city, and said she'd like to see more ability for law enforcement to "move people along" who are loitering outside the Bishop Dudley or at neighboring businesses, a common complaint that often results in calls to police.
"We cannot force them into the building," she said.
A group of presenters with South Dakota Urban Indian Health said "no panhandling" signs downtown should be removed, and also urged the task force to consider a shelter option that was not faith-based, while ensuring existing shelters were not excluding people based on classes such as religion or gender identity.
St. Francis House Executive Director Julie Becker, moreso than anyone, was blunt about her thoughts on the issue.
"I don't know that we're ever going to end homelessness," she said. What would help, however, was more partnerships between the organizations gathered in the room, many of which Merkouris said would likely return to a future meeting.
The task force will next assemble on Aug. 8 to hear feedback and recommendations from the public, at a meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. at Carnegie Town Hall.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Homeless Task Force hears 'firehose' of info at first meeting
