PEORIA, Ill. – The Peoria City Council took steps Tuesday night to address some of the more immediate problems and concerns in trying to handle the city’s homelessness situation.
The first measure saw approval for reimbursing costs incurred by Lula NFP for finding temporary shelter for the homeless population. Council unanimously approved reimbursing up to $80,000 through the end of February for hotel stays, food, transportation, and other expenses made by Lula.
In November, the city council passed an ordinance that bans camping on public property in the city limits, with potential fines and jail time for repeated violations.
City Manager says in order for Lula to be reimbursed, they must document all costs and have it be vetted and verified by the city.
The proposal brought forth by 3rd District Councilman Tim Riggenbach would have reimbursed Lula $10,000 for around 10 days of costs. But Mayor Rita Ali says the city had enough American Rescue Plan Act funds to increase the amount.
“Clearly, hotel rooms is not a sustainable model for the long term,” Riggenbach said. “But we still have, unfortunately, probably another six weeks of winter. We’ll see what the groundhog says here in a few days.”
Even though the measure passed unanimously, concerns were raised by some council members about the increased cost.
At-Large Councilman John Kelly stated at the meeting that he was originally on board with the $10,000, but balked initially at the increased funding. Kelly says he believes the city needs to find a way to help the homeless into a better situation, rather than just finding a place for them to stay.
“All I see is ‘Well just put them in motels and we’ll just keep paying, and nothing else is going to change’,” Kelly said. “Well I hope that’s not true.”
Kelly suggests establishing detox facilities, recovery housing, and mental health assistance.
At-Large Councilman Zach Oyler says he expected the solutions to the problems would cost money, but wants to know exactly how much the cost would be. He also suggested weekly updates on what progress is being made to solve the homelessness problem.
Lula Founder Kshe Bernard spoke after the vote, thanking the council for the vote to support her group. Bernard says, as of Tuesday, no one is left in the homeless encampments, and that 61 people are staying in their pop-up shelter. She added that people found in manmade caves on the river, dumpsters, uninhabitable buildings, and alleyways are also being sheltered.
The city council also approved spending $105,000 to assist Dream Center Peoria with expanding capacity at its shelter. The money would fund four case managers, security, operations, and administrative costs for the next three months.
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