Polk County needs about three times the funding it currently allocates to housing, emergency shelter and other resources for people experiencing homelessness, a new study shows.
The Homelessness System Needs Assessment and Centralized Intake Evaluation, published Feb. 7, says the resources for people experiencing homelessness fall “significantly” short of the community’s needs and identifies improvements needed.
The study shows the county needs hundreds of additional shelter spaces and housing units, according to a release from Homeward, Polk County’s homelessness planning organization. It says filling that gap would require roughly another $20 million.
Columbus, Ohio-based Housing Innovations, a homelessness training and technical assistance firm, conducted the stuuy with funding from the Nationwide Foundation.
Homeward Executive Director Angie Arthur told the Des Moines Register the study offers “concrete, solid” data to demonstrate the need in the community and also provides a roadmap for where the community should invest its resources to help alleviate homelessness.