Searching for a consultant: Ames pledges $12,000 to help curb rise in homelessness

The City of Ames is beginning conversations to help slow a rise in local homelessness by committing $12,000 for a specialized consultant.

The Ames City Council believes this yet-to-be-indentified specialist can host informational community gatherings on homelessness with the goal of developing an action plan by fall.

The city will partner with its Analysis of Social Services Evaluation Team , and the $12,000 will come from the $143,579 ASSET funds.

Slowing a discouraging trend

Community service providers, ASSET volunteers, city staff and the broader community have noticed an increase in the homeless population in Ames in the last year, Assistant City Manager Pa Goldbeck said.

"We’re seeing this trend happen across the nation as well," Goldbeck said. "Homelessness is a very complex issue; the reasons why people might become homeless can vary."

The ultimate goal is to establish a plan to help slow the concerning trend.

The community conversations will be used to gain a better understanding of how to effectively assist those in need. They'll focus on the varying reasons why residents become homeless and the services that are available locally.

"There seems to be a lack of a comprehensive community understanding and strategy to assist the homeless population," the City of Ames said in a report .

Goldbeck anticipates other entities stepping up to help fund the project. ASSET staff will eventually seek proposals from prospective consultants and finalize a work contract.

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What services does ASSET provide Ames?

ASSET is a partnership between the City of Ames, United Way of Story County, Story County, Iowa State University Student Government, and Central Iowa Community Services. The team helps coordinate human services planning and offers funding recommendations in Story County.

The City of Ames doesn’t fund emergency housing facilities, but it contracts for those services through local non-profit agencies, such as the Bridge Home and the Salvation Army. ASSET has handled funding for emergency shelter services since the 1980s.

The Ames City Council recently dedicated $25,000 to ASSET to help displaced Ames residents. Though the funds can be used for anyone in need of a home, the council approved the money with the intent to help roughly 35 residents who were evicted from a pair of condemned Welch Ave. apartments in late June.

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Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Searching for a consultant: Ames pledges $12,000 to help curb rise in homelessness