Temple to buy space for countywide homeless shelter

Killeen Daily Herald
BY SHANE MONACO | TELEGRAM STAFF
November 21, 2022

Federal grant money in Temple will now be diverted to helping the local homelessness population — including buying space for a countywide shelter — after a decision by the City Council last week.

The city’s Community Development Block Grant funds, which previously were designated for a new East Temple Community Enrichment Job Training Center, will now go to two homelessness projects.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Temple received $481,597 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding for its CDBG program that it planned to use for the center. The program, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, helps support projects to aid and develop local communities.

Brittany Chopane, grant manager for the city, said the officials decided to reallocate the funds after construction costs rose due to inflation.

“Instead, we would like to invest in a program to address homelessness in Temple,” Chopane said. “This program would include securing a homeless shelter, providing substance use disorder treatment and developing programs to help those experiencing homelessness.”

Currently, Chopane said the city plans to spend about $331,597 on the purchase of a space for a homeless shelter and $150,000 on substance use programs.

To run these programs, city officials have worked with other organizations and entities across the county in the past few months. This has led to the creation of a homelessness plan spanning the entire county.

Nancy Glover, director of housing and community development, said the new organization would be named The Arbor of Hope.

“Through that process we have determined that the best way to move forward and to provide the best possible management for a homeless, transitional campus like, facility would be to have an independent nonprofit run that operation,” Glover said. “That organization would be comprised of representatives from all the different agencies that are involved as well as the cities of Killeen, Temple and Bell County.”

During last week’s meeting, multiple residents expressed their support and concerns about the switch in funding.

Some area residents expressed concern about where the new shelter would be located, and asked the city to make sure it had easy access to necessities that would help the homeless.

Resident Alan Lytle, who attended the meeting, asked city officials for more details about the program after expressing concerns regarding the future of the project after funds were used.

“We are going to have this money now to do these things, but what about next year and the year after?” Lytle said. “Are we going to have to rely on our nonprofits to maintain and run these programs? Nonprofits right now are having a hard time getting money from the public.”

City officials said the costs to maintain the project have already been accounted for in future city budgets.

Temple Mayor Tim Davis said he hopes that the programs put in place to help the local homeless population continue into the future and help ease the problem.

“I think it is important to note that, at the end of all this, what is going to happen is we are going to have a homeless population that is safer and better taken care of, rather than being left out there to figure out on their own, how to coordinate all these services if they can at all,” Davis said.

Lytle also asked Council members if this switch in programs receiving funding meant that the city abandoned the East Temple project.

City Manager Brynn Myers responded that the city still planned to continue with the project but CDBG grant funds have a time limit on when they could be spent.

“We are definitely still in support of a community enrichment center for East Temple, but we do need more time in order to figure out what is the best path forward,” Myers said. “Our needs for our implantation of our homelessness strategic plan are right now, and we know what we need and we know the path forward.”