Human Services Board sifts through funding requests
Imagine trying to cut a 9-inch apple pie into 50 slices. Someone is going to be left hungry.
The Human Services Advisory Board faced a similar task at its January meeting.
The group advises the City Council on matters related to social services. Its main job is to review requests for city funds by various agencies and make spending recommendations to the council.
“This year over 50 agencies applied for funds, and they’re all so deserving,” said board member Marilyn Thordarson.
The board received requests for approximately $2.4 million. Unfortunately the city budget has allocated just under $700,000 for Human Services.
“We haven’t seen an increase in city funds in quite awhile,” said board member Christine McCabe. Yet each year the demand exceeds the money.
In the City Council briefing room, the group wrestled with numbers and needs. Agencies like Crosswalk, Cancer Patient Care and St. Margaret’s Shelter desperately need city funds to survive.
Board chairwoman Michele Harris says this year the council presented board members with three priorities to help them make choices. The priorities are moving the homeless into stable living environments, improving access to human services, and improving the physical and mental health of citizens.
In addition to advising about city funds, the group also makes recommendations regarding federal funds and grants. Each member reviews an average of 25 proposals.
Human Services Director Jerrie Allard gets to read them all. She has to use a red wagon to haul the assortment of thick binders to the monthly meeting.
As the meeting progressed, the board members moved chairs closer to a large video screen to read Allard’s overview of the report. When the numbers were totaled, they found to their dismay that they’d recommended $832,000 – quite a bit more than the $700,000 the city has available.
Calculators were whipped out, and the group began to whittle down the dollars. It’s a daunting task because board members are keenly aware these agencies care for the most vulnerable among us.
“When an individual is homeless on our streets, it affects our neighborhoods and our fire and police resources,” Harris said. “Social services affect every single person in the city.”
As the two-hour meeting drew to a close, the board still wasn’t ready to present a recommendation to the council and scheduled a second meeting.
“I can’t think of a more important and meaningful way to share my time and give back to the community,” Harris said.