By Nicholas Palazzo
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
The Baltimore City Council’s Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Tuesday discussed the pros and cons of a bill that would create an independent agency to assist homeless people seeking permanent housing.
Committee Chairman John Bullock, who represents Baltimore’s 9th District, reviewed the specific of the legislation. He said an independent agency would administer a housing voucher program to help poor people who have been homeless.
Currently, the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services handles all homelessness issues. Officials estimate about 3,000 homeless people seek shelter on any given night in Baltimore.
“Nothing about this bill should be construed to be any sort of front to any of the work that is already being done or has been done by the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services,” said Councilman Ryan Dorsey, who introduced the bill in mid-August.
“Rather this bill is to create permanent housing; the homelessness office is meant only to solidify that such an office exists as homelessness is a continuous problem for the city,” Dorsey said.
The housing voucher program would use more than $1.3 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund each year. Eligible recipients would be people who make up to 30 percent of the area’s median income and are looking to transition from supportive housing.
Dorsey explained that the independent agency would create operation guidelines. He described it as “a hub of sorts” to function as a safe place for those looking for housing. The objective would be to transition homeless people from these supportive housing systems to self-sufficiency, he said.
The voucher program could guide those living in homeless shelters towards housing options and the possibility of a job.
“The voucher program will help create a next step for those who are ready to transition out of permanent supportive housing,” said Dorsey.
But Bullock added, “We will need time to work on this; it is serious, and we want to do it right.”
Tisha Edwards, who represented the Mayor’s Homeless Services office, suggested the possibility of rewriting the bill because of “significant limitations.”
“We are all trying to work together to find a solution for a very complex issue our city is facing,” Edwards said.
There is a concern of funding after certain changes to the bill while it is being processed. Edwards said that the voucher program would not properly fund the agency as designed.
Under the current housing programs, Baltimore homeless officials receive sub grants and partnerships with organizations.
“To have a local voucher program that does not fund voluntary supportive services in our opinion is short sighted,” Edwards said.