Changes at the Arlington Life Shelter in January have sparked concerns with some city leaders over the way the shelter is operating.
The city council was told during a retreat the shelter no longer offers its facility as an inclement weather shelter. Council member Andrew Piel, who represents District 4, was unhappy with that change, as well as with the shelter’s reduced capacity and lack of overnight shelter option without a medium bar to entry.
The shelter stopped offering inclement weather beds in January over concerns about safety and a lack of money, Arlington Life Shelter CEO and President Stephanie Melchert told KERA News.
Before the decision, the shelter offered 10 beds during inclement weather. Melchert said those beds were never in high demand when offered.
The Arlington Life Shelter is one of two facilities for people who are experiencing homelessness in Arlington, joined by the Salvation Army shelter. But Melchert said their purposes are very different.
While not a part of the city, Arlington has provided grants to the shelter, including funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist with operations. It also received grants ranging from $10,000 to $23,000 from local groups including the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation, in addition to a grant to help with renovations, Deputy City Manager Jennifer Wichmann said.
Those grants aren’t available to the shelter anymore, Melchert said. The shelter’s board in January decided to stop offering inclement weather shelter options out of safety and funding concerns and because there was never enough demand to fill the 10 beds it could offer.
Melchert said the Arlington Life Shelter has always been a program shelter, not just an overnight shelter. She emphasized that anybody who qualifies to be in the shelter can access it for one to three nights without having to participate in programs.
The requirements for the shelter, which include a valid photo ID and a background check, make the facility a medium-barrier shelter, she said. That’s because its primary goal is to serve whole families as a single unit and the qualifications for entry ensure children are safe in the facility.
Piel said he’s glad the shelter is helping people get back on their feet through programs and assistance in finding a job while staying there. But he said it should also meet other needs in Arlington, like overnight and inclement weather shelters.
“To limit yourself to just that, when there's a serious need with your partners elsewhere in the city, is a problem for me,” Piel said at the Nov. 13 city council retreat. “I think they need to do more to be a team player. And they shouldn't be out on an island like it appears they are. That they're not using their total bed space is ridiculous.”
Melchert said the shelter is a team player, working with other shelters not only in Arlington but across Tarrant and Dallas Counties. The shelter’s relationship with the city has always been positive and the two organizations meet regularly to discuss needs, programs and collaboration, she told KERA News.
When it comes to the reduction in beds available, Melchert said the shelter had to make the reduction from 120 beds to 85 because of funding. It relies on donations and doesn’t have enough money to be fully staffed and offer those beds and shelter services at full capacity right now.
Donations dropped off around the Covid-19 pandemic and then came back in the couple of years that followed, but it has since dropped off again, she said.
If the city is able and willing to provide the $3 million the shelter would need to operate at full capacity again, Melchert said the shelter would be able to discuss offering inclement weather sheltering again in addition to opening up all 120 beds.
“If they want to guarantee us $3 million on an annual basis, I would definitely entertain the conversation of serving 10 additional inclement weather people,” Melchert said.
Wichmann said the city could look into working with an organization to open a new shelter in Arlington that would have a lower bar to entry, offering overnight and inclement weather sheltering options.
Long Pham, who represents District 6 on the council, said he was intrigued by the idea as long as the city doesn’t try to start operating a homeless shelter on its own.
“We could have some non-profit taking over and we can provide some assistance to that group and that would be a great idea,” Pham said in a phone interview. “But the city, we can’t sit there and manage those shelters by ourselves."
Wichmann said the idea is still conceptual but that positive responses from council members mean staff will begin researching things like how much it would cost to provide funding support and the possible organizations to partner with.
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