“We’ve been working really hard to convert it into an emergency shelter,” Patterson said. “... We want to make sure there’s a very distinct difference between a motel voucher program versus an emergency shelter, so it was really gutting the motel, which is where we spent the last eight weeks.”
Patterson said the organization has been acclimating to Clark County’s homelessness assistance coordinated entry process, and ensuring they know who can refer individuals to them and how a person experiencing homelessness navigates the shelter and assistance process in the area. She said Sheltered Inc. is currently the entry point for people experiencing homelessness who are seeking shelter assistance.
“We’re not ready for full occupancy; we’re literally painting and bringing online as we go,” Patterson said. “Shelters should be filled if you have a homeless problem, so we want to make sure that we get the beds ready.”
Clark County Administrator Jenny Hutchinson said during a county commission meeting that the county hopes to transition everyone who is staying in motels into the shelter by Aug. 4.
Springfield City Commissioners earlier this year approved $2.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to purchase the Executive Inn, saying the 325 W. Columbia St. property and adjacent lots would be used as a temporary solution to provide more non-congregate shelter options in the city.
Homefull will operate the Executive Inn site for one year, and ownership of the building will remain with the city. It may be redeveloped to serve another function in the future.
Homefull works with unsheltered people to fill housing, health, food access, employment and other needs.
Congregate shelters have open spaces for housing unsheltered people. Non-congregate shelters, often set up like dormitories or hotels, include rooms for families to live by themselves and have privacy.
Tina Koumoutsos, housing coordinator at the Clark County Combined Health District, said during the task force meeting that OIC received 13 housing assistance referrals Tuesday morning, and the women’s unit at Sheltered Inc.’s emergency shelter was full.
Patterson said the emergency shelter is a temporary solution, and Homefull will provide other services to residents to “really start to address the issues of homelessness.”
Sheltered Inc. was previously considered by the city as a nonprofit to oversee functions at the location, but the project went to Homefull due to “financial issues” Sheltered is facing in the aftermath of the contract cancellation, city manager Bryan Heck said during a city commission meeting in April.
A month before the Executive Inn purchase, the city commission moved to buy the Villager Inn at 1715 W. North St. for $1.7 million, which also came from ARPA funds. It will serve as a more permanent solution to the county’s homelessness crisis.
The Villager Inn project is still in its planning phase, and the city received some requests for quotes regarding pricing for redevelopment, Ross Cunningham, federal programs manager, said.
The city plans to use the Executive Inn site as a non-congregate shelter while it brings the Villager Inn space back online. The temporary shelter will then be phased out, according to the city.
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