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Boise councilors upset as Ada County commissioners yank all homeless-apartment money

Six years ago, there was a turning point in how Boise homelessness was addressed. Local leaders shifted away from an aggressive approach that involved forcibly moving or ticketing homeless people sleeping on the streets. Instead, they decided to create a new program that would provide housing to the area’s most chronically homeless residents.

Now, the future of that program is in jeopardy. City officials find themselves at odds with the beliefs of new county commissioners. The county doesn’t want to fund a housing program that doesn’t require treatment for substance abuse issues. The city says it has been left with a $335,000 bill.

New Path once seen as solution

The city of Boise wasn’t always so supportive of ensuring residents had a place to stay.

In 2014, the city broke up the informally named “Hobo Hangout” homeless camp under the bridge where the I-184 Connector crosses Americana Boulevard and 15th Street. The area was fenced off to prevent people from returning.

A year later, the city ticketed and kicked out everyone camping in area a few hundred feet away known as Cooper Court, behind the Interfaith Sanctuary shelter. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later ruled that cities cannot prosecute people for sleeping on the streets if there is nowhere else for them to go.

Those controversial decisions forced local leaders to examine how they wanted to address Boise’s most chronically shelter-resistant residents. Leaders could either continue to see larger homeless encampments erected or provide those who had been sleeping there with somewhere else to live. Many of the chronically homeless residents of these camps were also costing taxpayers money with frequent trips to the emergency room or jail.

A series of 2015 meetings with leaders of local governments, businesses and charities culminated in the decision to build New Path Community House. Located a quarter mile north of Cooper Court on Fairview Avenue at 22nd Street, the three-story apartment building would be a place where about 40 chronically homeless people could live through funding from local entities.

The Idaho Housing and Finance Association sold federal tax credits to raise $5.83 million for New Path’s construction and added $500,000 from a federal program that promotes affordable housing, the Idaho Statesman reported in 2017. The city of Boise contributed $1 million.

Federal funding would cover most rent and utilities. Local hospitals and Ada County agreed to cover the cost of hiring Terry Reilly Health Services for on-site peer support, medical and health services, outpatient mental health treatment, substance-abuse treatment, intensive case-management services and life-skills education.

Many residents are what Jodi Peterson, executive director of Boise’s Interfaith Sanctuary homeless shelter, calls “shelter-resistant,” meaning they usually sleep on the streets rather than in shelters. Peterson told the Idaho Statesman that New Path “identifies a very specific group that has a higher need and require more for a good part of their life.”

Following the election of new commissioners in 2020, however, Ada County began pulling away from New Path. In July, the Ada County Commission decided to reduce the county’s share of New Path funding from $312,000 to $200,000. Now, commissioners have decided to cut funding further: to $0.

Boise City Council members faced a dilemma. The city could either cover the shortfall or risk New Path residents losing treatment.

“I’m disappointed that Ada County took this action to pull out of this,” Council President Elaine Clegg said at a Nov. 9 council meeting. “At the same time, (I) recognize that we’ve got vulnerable citizens who are counting on us to help them as they work on figuring out how to put their lives back together.”

The commissioners say the $200,000 will still go to Terry Reilly Health Services to help those facing homelessness, just not specifically to New Path residents. Chairman Rod Beck said in an email that he wants the money go toward residents living in less permanent housing.

“The board is interested in offering the services Terry Reilly Health Services provided to New Path residents to more members of our community,” Beck said in an email. “Ada County residents living in transitional housing facilities and shelters would benefit from having these services available as well.”

Different governing bodies, different approaches

The disagreement highlights the different approaches the city and county are taking to chronic homelessness.

While the county was once supportive of New Path, that changed when the board flipped from a Democratic majority to a Republican majority in the 2020 election. Ryan Davidson beat incumbent Diana Lachiondo, a vocal New Path supporter, in a close race for Ada County’s 1st District commissioner seat. Beck replaced fellow Republican Patrick Malloy in the county’s 2nd District. That left District 3’s Kendra Kenyon, elected in 2019, as the commission’s only Democrat. And even Kenyon has expressed skepticism toward New Path’s methods.

When it came time for their first budget discussion this summer, the new commissioners were hesitant to agree to any funding of New Path. In the end, they agreed to a 36% decrease from the previous year but warned they planned to look into alternative options for the money.

The commissioners’ biggest issue with New Path is its the Housing First approach. Housing First is a government policy and approach to homelessness used across the country that does not require people to be successful in substance abuse or behavioral programs before receiving housing. Services are offered to Housing First residents, but it is their choice whether to participate.

New Path became Boise’s pilot Housing First initiative when it opened in November 2018.

“Since January 2021, Ada County leadership has consistently communicated their lack of support in the Housing First model and, therefore, their intent to make substantive changes to any supportive services contract the county is a party to – changes that move away from the Housing First model that has been critical to New Path’s success,” Maureen Brewer, Boise’s senior manager of housing and community development, wrote in a letter to the City Council on Oct. 6. “Last year’s contract for supportive services at New Path was held by Ada County, and because all project funding partners only make annual commitments, the process to reconfirm funding results in annual uncertainty and risk.”

The county wants to focus on targeting substance abuse among the local homeless population, while the city remains committed to New Path’s Housing First approach.

During this summer’s budgeting hearing, all three commissioners, including Democrat Kendra Kenyon, expressed to some degree a desire to see drug treatment become a bigger focus at New Path and wanted see more people move out of New Path into their own homes.

Council member Lisa Sanchez attributed Ada County’s change in attitude to the change in leadership, saying the loss of New Path funding is “a reminder of how important elections are and electing the right people to these positions.”

City foots the bill

The county’s decision to reduce the amount of money budgeted for New Path left a funding gap and uncertainty about New Path’s future.

Boise City Council members voted unanimously on Nov. 9 to address that gap by approving a $335,000 appropriation increase for New Path.

Both Saint Alphonsus and St. Luke’s have agreed to raise their annual contributions from $100,000 each to $120,000 each.

New Path is asking for $63,000 more than the amount received for treatment funding in 2020 because of small increases in staffing and line items that include additional training and supplies.

Council Member Holli Woodings pointed to a Boise State University study that found New Path had saved the community nearly $2.7 million in the last two years in jail time, paramedic services, mental health and substance abuse services, emergency room care, in-patient hospital stays and arrest costs.

“We’ve seen through a study done by Boise State, that it’s really a tremendous investment in our community, “ Woodings said. “It’s humane. It’s a way that we can help folks who have been experiencing homelessness long-term live in a way that is not harmful to them or the community. So it just kind of makes me mad that they decided to pull their support, and left us on the hook for making up that funding.“

Ada County says New Path doesn’t help enough people

County commissioners say the $200,000 approved in July was never guaranteed to go to New Path residents.

“The board is committed to maximizing the benefits paid for with taxpayer dollars,” Elizabeth Duncan, Ada County communications manager, said in an email. “Rather than limiting the services to the 40 units at New Path, the services could be made available to a much bigger pool of individuals desperately in need of them.”

The commissioners plan to meet with stakeholders in December to create a plan for how to use the $200,000.

“Ada County is working with Terry Reilly Health Services, St. Luke’s and Saint Alphonsus to develop a plan that best serves the wider community,” the board said in a statement to the Statesman. “New Path is permanent housing serving roughly 40 people. We believe the money Ada County contributes should go toward programs that have a broader impact.”

Future of New Path funding unclear

Before approving the New Path funds, City Council members said they hope Ada County will return their funding next year.

“There’s no really good argument that withdrawing that funding was a good idea,” Council Member Patrick Bageant said. “And frankly, to the people in the city of Boise, there’s no credible argument that every time Ada County drops the ball on its obligations to our citizens, the Boise taxpayers can step in and carry that.”

Clegg noted that “the county both has a statutory responsibility as well as defined funding for these kinds of needs,” while the city of Boise does not. She is hoping a solution can be reached over the next year “with all of the partners” to find “a more sustainable solution.”

For their part, the county commissioners have not said whether they will fund New Path in the future or if they will raise funding back to previous amounts. They are asking St. Luke’s and Saint Alphonsus medical centers to contribute still more to the program.

“Increasing the funding beyond the $200K budgeted for this fiscal year has not been discussed,” Duncan said. “The county’s budgeting process begins next spring, so this issue may come up at that time. Ada County has asked St Luke’s and St. Al’s to match the county’s contribution as well.”

Sally Krutzig covers Treasure Valley growth and development. Have a story suggestion or a question? Email Krutzig at skrutzig@idahostatesman.com.

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