After two city councilmen raised issues about how they felt the City of Fort Wayne was addressing homelessness, city officials explained their approach during Tuesday’s council meeting.
Amanda Fall is the manager of Homeless Services for Fort Wayne, a position that was created only six months ago. She presented the city’s ongoing efforts to the council, including solutions, and how the council can be involved.
“Council, I know you’ve wanted to know what role you play in this," Fall said. "We need your continued support for cross sector collaboration, we need flexible funding for the strategies we are creating and we need investment in long-term solutions.”
The presentation came after two weeks of friction between the city and Council President Russ Jehl and Councilman Dr. Scott Myers. The councilmen sent a letter recommending approaches to homelessness from other communities.
The city attorney responded with a letter of her own, with three pages detailing ongoing programs.
Jehl called the letter “a headscratcher.”
At the meeting, Fall laid out what the city is working on; bridging gaps to permanent housing, making shelters more accessible and increasing affordable housing.
She emphasized the strategy was ongoing.
Jehl offered to partner to request money from opioid funds from the state at the next legislative session.
