PEORIA, Ill. – The Peoria City Council unanimously approved giving LULA NFP additional funding to continue a project that’s been sheltering homeless people in a motel at Tuesday night’s meeting.
The non-profit was given a $39,000 grant that reimburses funds the organization has spent to house more than 90 people who previously were living in tents in Peoria.
This is the second time the council has given money to LULA Peoria, previously giving the organization $80,000 back in January. LULA has been using its own money to house the homeless since money from the city ran out in February.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, Mayor Rita Ali said she and 3rd District Councilman Tim Riggenbach have been looking for more funding options, and a more permanent solution to keeping Peoria’s homeless people off the streets.
With the help of Illinois’ chief homelessness officer, the United Way, and the Continuum of Care, $200,000 grant is expected to be approved by the state, and go into effect on April 1. Until then, additional funding from the city will be needed.
The $200,000 from the state would have to be spent by June 30.
Peoria Community Development Director Joe Dulin says the city still has roughly $600,000 in unspent funding that’s been earmarked for homeless spending. The city has asked if it could be reimbursed for expenses for the remainder of March, but the state denied that request.
Councilman Riggenbach says he supports the idea of building “tiny homes” where the homeless could live together and be provided basic services. It’s a model that has been used by cities across the country.
“I think it behooves us as a council to dig a little deeper and look at costs by the deadline of June 30. We need to be aggressive right now,” Riggenbach says.
Homelessness has been a big issue for Peoria since the council approved an ordinance making camping on public property illegal in November.
Community Development Director Joe Dulin says since LULA started sheltering the homeless in a motel this winter, the number of people being served has dropped from around 90 to 59, with 16 finding housing and 18 completing their paperwork for housing assistance.
The Council also approved a 3-percent raise for City Manager Patrick Urich as part of the consent agenda Tuesday night. Urich will receive an increase of $6,604 to $226,754. Urich is also receiving a $5,000 longevity bonus.
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