Consideration to delay progression of homeless shelter rejected at July city council

The progression of the downtown homeless shelter continued to be a point of conversation among Jackson City Council on Tuesday.

Before breaking ground in April 2023, the need for the shelter was spawned by the death of a local, unhoused individual who lost his life during a winter storm in 2020.

On any given night, Jackson has a population of about 120 unhoused people.

The shelter will be the city's first facility for men in 25 years and is projected to serve 1,000 individuals over 10 years, with a maximum stay of 90 days before transitioning to permanent housing.

Over the last several weeks, council members have had extensive discourse regarding the city's budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which was absent on Tuesday's agenda, and inherently how funding for the homeless shelter will be impacted.

Location and funding concerns

In Tuesday's meeting, the council rejected a consideration presented by Councilwoman Candice Busby, District 3, for a 30-day delay in the shelter proceeding. The vote was passed with five in favor of the rejection, two opposed, and one abstained.

Busby says business owners reached out to express apprehensiveness over the shelter's location.

The McCorry Street location was intentionally selected for its proximity to homeless-focused services like the Jackson Housing Authority, Area Relief Ministries (ARM), and Regional Inter-Faith Association (RIFA).

Several public meetings were held throughout the planning for the shelter, providing ample opportunity for local input.

Chief Innovation Officer Lauren Kirk shared that local business owners and social service agencies involved in the construction of the shelter recently met at Hub City Brewery on May 22 to discuss similar concerns.

"We're talking about human beings here and so sometimes when it gets into social services, there gets to be some fears and misconceptions when you're not in the industry," Kirk said.

Kirk says she felt that the meeting was productive and alleviated attendee misconceptions.

"There's some ideas around how these folks would be treated and so we were able to get some clarification on what would be the operating protocol and why that location and why next to RIFA. At the end of the day, there are going to be different opinions on where it should be located and why, but this was why we felt like it was the best location and we tried to explain that and we feel like we had good consensus and good conversation that day."

Concerns over operational funding were called into question as well.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is funding construction acquisition for the shelter and something Tennessee Homeless Solutions Director Amy McDonald says is highly uncommon.

Executive Director Mark Reid with the Jackson Housing Authority shared that half of the funds allocated for the shelter should have already been spent by March 2024 and can't exactly be postponed any longer. One of the several local entities involved, JHA'S McMillan Towers is adjacent to the shelter's proposed location.

"They (HUD) also look at your city and how well and fast can you expend this money, so we're kind of dragging our feet. We need to get the money spent so opportunities come about, depending on how well we perform," Reid said. "It's frustrating to me."

Councilman Larry Lowrance (District 6) voiced reservations over the non-permanence of funding as it relates to state and federal grants.

McDonald estimates an annual operating budget of $85,000, paid for through federal and state grants, private donations, and fundraising. She is confident that operating costs will be met by the expected sources.

Supreme Court ruling on homelessness

On June 28, a 6-3 vote by the Supreme Court in Grants Pass v. Johnson aimed to target unhoused individuals who sleep outside, regardless of a lack of available shelter, and ultimately increase a city's ability to fine and arrest them.

On the heels of the ruling, the need for a homeless shelter in Jackson has only been amplified.

"The cities who want to enforce that law, they will," McDonald said. "There is a homeless transit circuit, and they talk, from New York to L.A. and it will become very known what cities are homeless-friendly and don't enforce those laws."

Sarah Best is a reporter for The Jackson Sun. To support local journalism, subscribe to the Daily Briefing here