Jefferson City offers $41k to expand homelessness services
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Jefferson City is making up to $41,211 available for organizations providing services to people experiencing homelessness.
The city is accepting proposals for the funding, which comes from the public services portion of a federal grant program called the Community Development Block Grant.
The city said its five-year plan for investing CDBG funds identified public services as a funding priority. That allows the city to make up to 15% of its annual federal allocation available to eligible nonprofit organizations.
The city is looking for programs that improve access to shelter, housing, treatment, employment, health care and other supportive services.
The funding opportunity follows recommendations from the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness, which identified gaps in the community’s existing support system and highlighted organizations already providing services.
City spokeswoman Molly Bryan said the city developed a request for proposals to ensure the federal funding meets eligibility requirements while addressing needs identified by the task force.
Rather than creating a new city-operated program, the city is making the money available to nonprofits that can provide new services or expand existing programs, Bryan said.
Common Ground Community Building Executive Director Katie Amick said she hopes organizations apply for funding to support certified “coordinated entry” assessors and housing navigators.
Those positions help individuals and families connect with available housing resources and navigate the housing system, Amick said. She said the community has limited capacity in those areas.
One of the biggest gaps identified by the task force was the lack of a dedicated daytime shelter and resource center, according to Missouri River Regional Library Director Claudia Young. Young also served on the mayor’s homelessness task force.
Young said the library has increasingly become a place for people experiencing homelessness to go during the day. She said the library welcomes everyone as long as they follow its patron code of conduct, but she believes the community needs a dedicated place where people can access daytime services.
Task force chairman Scott Johnston said the funding is a positive step toward addressing those needs.
The money “is a start of the city making a commitment to working with the community organizations to deal with this issue,” Johnston said.
Johnston said Room at the Inn is reviewing the grant requirements to determine whether it will apply. He said not having a facility could make it more challenging for the organization to submit a proposal.
Jefferson City Mayor Ron Fitzwater said the city is waiting to hear from organizations about where they see the biggest gaps in services before deciding how to distribute the money.
“The organizations will have to submit and, you know, go through a review process and we’ll try to allocate dollars where we can be of most assistance just to show the support of the city in that issue,” Fitzwater said.
Fitzwater said the city will evaluate the applications and consider whether the funding opportunity should continue in future years based on the response.
The Salvation Army also plans to apply. Major Chris Clarke said the organization hopes to use the money to provide daytime services for homeless people who do not stay in a shelter.
Clarke said the goal is to give people a place to go during the day where they can access services and get meals. The Salvation Army provides two free meals every day.
The organization is also expanding its shelter from 31 to 62 beds, with the ability to provide up to 15 additional cots.
“The problem is that for years we’ve been full. So that’s why we’re making this huge investment, $6.5 million, with the community’s help into renovating and expanding our building, because there’s a lot of need,” Clarke said.
Construction is expected to be completed in December, with the expanded shelter operating at full capacity in the new year.
Proposals for the city’s funding are due Dec. 4. Eligible applicants must be nonprofit organizations, and services must benefit people experiencing homelessness in Jefferson City. Organizations must explain how they plan to use the money and demonstrate how the funding would create a new service or expand an existing one.
The Jefferson City Council accepted $274,742 in CDBG funding from the federal government in October. The program also supports first-time homebuyers with down payments, home rehabilitation projects and neighborhood infrastructure improvements, according to the city’s website.
The City Council’s Public Works Committee is scheduled to discuss the CDBG request for proposals at its meeting Thursday.
The task force was assembled in 2024 and met for about two years to identify gaps in the city’s response to homelessness.
The task force also recommended a housing strategy. The City Council voted to allocate nearly $90,000 toward that effort in October 2025.
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