Moses Lake to host homelessness forum
May 31—MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake residents will be asked for their ideas on how the city can help address homelessness following the impending closure of the Open Doors sleep center at a community forum beginning at 6:30 p.m. June 2.
Moses Lake City Council members voted in April to close the sleep center June 30, when the grant that funded its operation expires. Council members opted not to renew the grant. The sleep center provides overnight accommodation for about 35 people.
City officials want to get ideas from residents on what they want the city to do after the sleep center closes. Lynne Lynch, communications and marketing specialist, said attendees will be broken up into groups and asked for their suggestions about a list of different jobs that will be part of the closure and how the city will address homelessness from now on.
There are tasks that go along with closing the facility, like restoring the property to its original condition. Different city departments will be responsible for different parts of the response, and city officials are looking for suggestions on how residents want to proceed with that.
A resource guide, which lists organizations that provide help to people who need help finding assistance, is posted on the city website. City officials are looking for suggestions to enhance it and provide the widest possible distribution and accessibility.
The closure will require changes to city ordinances, and city officials want to know where residents want to go with those. Revisions will be required to the city's laws concerning camping, nuisances and drug activity, among others.
City officials are also soliciting ideas on ways to enforce ordinances and communicate the rules as clearly as possible. While the city will no longer provide direct services for unsheltered people, other agencies do, and city officials want suggestions on how the city can, within the available funds, help people connect with those organizations.
Participants will have about 30 minutes to discuss their ideas; each group's conclusions and suggestions will be announced once the whole group reassembles.
The ideas and suggestions that result will be discussed and considered by city employees working on the plan, which will be submitted to the council in June.
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