Elgin to build transitional community for city's homeless population

After years of what Mayor David Kaptain characterized as "kicking the can down the road," the Elgin City Council unanimously approved a plan to build temporary shelters for the city's homeless population.

As part of budget discussions, the council this week set aside $940,000 for a project to buy land and build individual shelters for about 50 houseless individuals. Many of those people currently live in a tent city between Route 31 and the west bank of the Fox River.

Assistant City Manager Karina Nava has spearheaded the city's portion of the project to build the transitional shelter community, partnering with One Collective Elgin and other nonprofits to find a solution.

"This project will create a no-barrier community that provides adequate shelter for the city's unsheltered people," Nava said. "This initiative creates a focus on the well-being of the unsheltered population and the city as a whole by utilizing a transitional community that is supported by citywide collaboration."

Nava said the project is modeled after existing programs, including one in Madison, Wisconsin. The shelters would each have electricity, air conditioning, heat, a bed and storage.

"It really brings dignity back to sheltering," Nava said. "We're moving away from the congregate shelter idea. People want their own space, and they want to feel safe."

Couples/partners will be able to share a shelter. Elgin's current unsheltered population is around 70.

An on-site community building with restrooms would have staff 24 hours a day. Services --- including food, mental health and substance abuse counseling --- would be facilitated by the Ecker Center, the Association for Individual Development and the Elgin Cooperative Ministry.

The project would constitute the first phase of a plan that eventually moves the residents to transitional housing.

Finding a location is proving difficult, Nava said. Officials currently have two potential sites under consideration. Neither of them is located in the downtown area. Downtown business owners in recent years have had mounting problems with the city's homeless population.

"I think there's a lot of appetite in the community to solve this homeless issue, and I could see a lot of people donating time and money to the effort, but when we're talking about the location, that's going to be the biggest challenge," she said.

City staff had asked the council for $1.5 million - $925,000 for land acquisition and $575,000 to build the structures. But council member John Steffen recommended the $940,000 amount because the city needed to set aside money for pension obligations.

"This gets us started and gets us moving," Steffen said.

Nava said there are opportunities to receive private funding from foundations and government programs to make up the difference.

"I think the amount could help get us started and show commitment from the city level, which is very powerful because it can help bring on other partners as well," she said.

Council members all agreed that it was time to do something.

"We have been having this conversation about houselessness for about as long as I can remember," council member Corey Dixon said. "I understand we don't have it all figured out. But sometimes, you've got to get moving. We're doing something that, I believe, is headed in the right direction."

Mayor David Kaptain said the plan is the first he's seen that provides a place for the homeless 24 hours a day.

"That's the key to me," Kaptain said. "In the past, we had people in a shelter. And sometime during the day, they would be out on the street. And when they're out on the street, that's when the problems start. "This will give them a permanent place of their own," he said.

Nava said officials hope to have the project up and running by November 2023.