By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
The City of Salina has approved a "Strategic Plan for Homeless Solutions" from an out of state consulting firm that helps with addressing the issues of homelessness.
In the past, the City has had interest in working with local agencies to address homelessness. Moreover, the City has applied for the Federal Emergency Solutions Grant, which is a federal grant provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support street outreach, emergency shelter operations, homelessness prevention, and rapid re-housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
From there, the City have managed that grant to distribute funds to local agencies who work directly with this issue in the community. Also, the City has provided general funding dollars to local agencies who serve the homeless in various capacities.
Currently, homelessness has increased specifically in the downtown area.
On September, Salina released a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking consultants interested in providing a “Strategic Plan for Homeless Solutions."
There were a total of 12 proposals, as costs ranged from $53,332 to $1,170,000.
The City approved the proposal from SHG Advisors (out of Colorado) with a total of $71,899.
The fee of $71,889 will only be based on planning processes and travel expenses. Funding for the proposed consulting services is available from Sales Tax Capital Fund.
"All of the members of the SHG team seemed to have the best understanding of what was requested in the RFP," as stated from Monday's city commission packet. "They demonstrated experience with working in rural communities, and the designated leader for this proposal seemed adept at working with communities like Salina."
Due to the fact that there are several agencies in Salina that address with the problem with homelessness, the City of Salina still works closely with those agencies.
City Manager Jacob Wood stated he wants all agencies to unite that help address homelessness, which he commented they seem to work "individually."
He also added the local agencies will be part of the discussions with SHG Advisors to combat the issues of homelessness.