BOISE, Idaho — This story first appeared in the Idaho Press.
The Ada County Commission on Tuesday unanimously declined to extend financial support to the city of Boise to help house extra Interfaith Sanctuary guests in hotels.
In December, the Ada County commissioners voted on funding $697,600 to the program, but only for four months. The money comes from American Rescue Plan Act funds. Boise provided some initial funding but currently works on managing the Ada County funds for Interfaith Sanctuary, according to a city spokesperson.
“We were hoping that would be enough for them to find new funding or a more permanent solution,” Commissioner Ryan Davidson said on Tuesday. “We're paying hotel rates to shelter people that should be in a proper facility.”
Interfaith Sanctuary has struggled with capacity as homelessness has risen in Boise over the last few years. In an open letter last January, officials described reaching overflow capacity during subfreezing temperatures and having to turn away almost 20 people.
Interfaith Executive Director Jodi Peterson-Stigers said that she was grateful Ada County stepped in back in December. She said it's been hard to have a relationship with the county when it comes to homelessness and the funding was a "really important first step."
"I'm sad that we're not going to continue with that funding," Peterson-Stigers said. "I'm working with the city of Boise and we're working on a plan to move forward to keep us in place at the hotel."
The goal is to keep people housed at the hotel shelter until Interfaith's new State Street shelter opens in 12 to 15 months. Those at the hotel, including families with children and medically fragile intakes from the hospital, are "our most vulnerable population," Peterson-Stigers said.
The hotel offers 87 additional shelter beds.
Peterson-Stigers said it can seem like an uphill battle to help homeless people in the area. She said it seems like all the partners are in place to do the work, but the challenge is funding sources. There's also been neighborhood opposition to the shelter's upcoming move.
"I think the hardest thing, really, truly, is feeling so unstable," Peterson-Stigers said. "It puts so much stress on our shelter, our staff, our guests. And part of how to shelter well is that you hold people in place and you create this sense of safety, to reduce trauma and help people be able to kind of take a deep breath and then start to move forward."
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