BOISE, Idaho — Boise's Better Shelter Task Force will not have a specific solution for the Interfaith Sanctuary homeless shelter as their final meeting is set for Friday.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean assembled the task force after local residents pushed back on Interfaith once the shelter announced its plans to open a shelter at an old Salvation Army building on West State Street.
The task force was originally asked to evaluate potential locations for Interfaith to relocate its shelter and vote on a solution. However, after a two-month discussion, the task force has shifted focus toward providing the Boise City Council with general recommendations.
There were few available buildings in Boise that were affordable or even zoned to be shelters, according to Interfaith Sanctuary Executive Director Jodi Peterson-Stigers.
"At that point, it was like, what to vote on?" Peterson-Stigers said.
Katy Decker is a member of the task force and the president of the Veteran's Park Neighborhood Association. She opposes the proposed State Street shelter location because it's uncommon for a shelter to be near a residential neighborhood.
Once the task force was no longer focused on endorsing a specific location, many task force members defaulted to the State Street location as the only acceptable option.
"I'm not sure that was the intent of moving away from a specific location," Decker said.
Decker said the State Street location has no buffer between the proposed shelter location and the nearby neighborhood. She added that this is an important factor for shelter locations in most cities. However, that was never a factor used to evaluate a location according to documents from the task force meetings.
The task force evaluated locations based on the following:
- Shelter Design
- Site Development
- Proximity to Services
- Land Availability
- Timeline Driven
- Right-Sized Investment
Decker said the task force had a broad interest in a scatted shelter model that would place several smaller shelter locations around the city rather than one large central shelter. However, that model did not fit the listed criteria.
"[The criteria] really seemed to be selected with State Street as a predetermined location and it's important to note they didn't have anything about the surrounding community in the criteria," Decker said.
Interfaith Sanctuary told KTVB that the criteria were designed in coordination with the City of Boise in order to better understand how Interfaith can more effectively shelter those in need of housing.
"We were trying not be specific about a building to keep our mind open for this conversation to happen," Peterson-Stigers said. "More shelter is necessary and better shelter is necessary. And so, love your neighbor."
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: