Shelter Funding Goes Toward Housing

Todays News

Federal funding budgeted for a homeless shelter will instead fund an effort by the City of Sarasota to launch permanent supportive housing for the homeless, following a vote by Sarasota City Commissioners on Monday. Officials stressed that the shift in funding was more an effort to fight time than to continue conflict with the county over a controversial solution to the transient issue.

The divide among city commissioners, in fact, was on whether the funding should be redirected for public housing or for the redesign of a Newtown park. The board voted 3-2 to fund only housing, with Mayor Willie Shaw and Vice Mayor Suzanne Atwell casting dissenting votes. “Parks are proven economic drivers,” Atwell said. “Of course we want that money to go into housing but so much of that is up in the air.” She and Shaw supported funding design improvements to Fredd “Glossie” Atkins Park. The roughly $289,000 in question comes from Community Development Block Grants budgeted in 2013 which staff fears could be lost if the funds are not spent.

The vote comes just as the city and county commissions in Sarasota prepare for a joint meeting on the homeless issue. The city reaffirmed it was opposed to building a come-as-you-are shelter in city limits and will focus on implementing a Housing First program, one aimed at getting homeless into housing. “We on this commission made it clear we are not going to stand for it being in North Sarasota, and we are policy makers,” said Commissioner Susan Chapman. But she stressed the move shouldn’t be seen as defunding homeless efforts, part of why she did not want money redirected toward a park. “Taking money away from the homeless especially when we haven’t addressed chronic homeless persons, and we’re being sued, we need to think about keeping that amount of money for a pilot program for permanent supportive housing.”

Shaw noted that there still may be a county-backed shelter in Newtown whether in city limits or not. “Presently, the conversation is the shelter will be north of Myrtle, in that area,” he said. “Whatever we do will involve Newtown. It may not yet have been brought to your attention but it has been brought to mine that I won’t like where this conversation goes.”

Atwell said she actually remained supportive of a shelter in concept, but wouldn’t risk the grant funding while details still get hashed out. “We need to get moving on these monies,” she said.

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