An early look at Columbia’s developing homeless shelter: The Opportunity Campus

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

With the growing homeless population in Boone County, the Voluntary Action Center is building The Opportunity Campus with the hopes of getting people back on their feet. As of Wednesday, the Voluntary Action Center estimates it will cost $18.1 million dollars.

According to the Boone County Coalition to End Homelessness, the homeless population has gone up 108% in the last year.

The campus will be located along Business Loop 70 and Bowling St. in central Columbia. It will comprise of multiple sections including the shelter, resource center and medical clinic. Opportunity Campus leaders say the goal is to move unsheltered people to housing as quickly as possible.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, to afford a two-bedroom rental home at HUD's fair market rent housing rate, a Missouri worker needs to bring in an annual income of $43,330.

According to Apartments.com, the average rent in Columbia for a two-bedroom rental property, which averages 977 square feet, is $1,048 a month. The organization says to pay no more than 30% of monthly income on rent, a person should make at least $42,756 a year.

The shelter

According to The Opportunity Campus website, the low-barrier shelter will operate 24/7 year-round. A low-barrier shelter is one which limits the incoming requirements for residents such as sobriety, to allow as many people as possible to join the facility.

The building features:

• 30,624 square feet of space
• 150 beds
• A kitchen
• Laundry facilities
• Showers
• Secure storage
• Kennel facilities
• a computer lab
• a physical mailing address for residents
• Housing case management resources

"We broke ground on February the 6th and the initial contract was for the site work, so most of what you see here now, the work has been done underground," Voluntary Action Center Executive Director Ed Stansberry said. "So there was a lot of stormwater, sewage connections, electrical, that kind of stuff that is under what we see on the surface."

Stansberry said the next phase of the project will be laying the foundations for the shelter and resource center. The website says the shelter will serve an estimated 500 people each year.

The resource center

The Opportunity Campus Resource Center will house office space for the organization's partner agencies. This includes Turning Point, Room at the Inn Como (RATI), Missouri Faith Voices and Loaves and Fishes.

Stansberry said RATI will fold under the 'VAC umbrella' and become a part of the Voluntary Action Center.

According to the website, the resource center will be 23,610 square feet and will allow people to get the resources they need in one place.

"The resource center piece of this is so incredibly important to have all of the wraparound and follow on services to make sure that the folks that are using the shelter can then move into housing and have all the support that they need to be successful," Stansberry said.

The medical clinic

The medical clinic will be located within the Resource Center and will take up 5,000 square feet. The Opportunity Campus says it will lease this space to a medical partner which will provide services including medical, mental health, substance abuse and dental needs.

Stansberry said the Voluntary Action Center is in talks with multiple local health organizations but contracts have not been signed.

Opportunity Campus leaders say they expect to serve about 10,000 people each year.

"This can be fantastic, we don't have to be hauled all over country and creation, you know," Veronica Kalamon said.

ABC 17 News spoke to people experiencing homelessness at the Turning Point day shelter about The Opportunity Campus. Many said they believe putting all the resources in one spot would be helpful.

Kalamon said she's been homeless for the last six months and has been living in the Columbia area. She said she's looking to move out of the area soon.

"The people in Columbia treat us homeless unbelievable," Kalamon said. "They are hateful toward us and I guess I can't really blame them. Some of the homeless are less desirable but some of us aren't. But we all get treated the same way."

Stansberry says the Voluntary Action Center aims to get people into housing and on a stable road as soon as possible. He says the goal is for individuals to stay at The Opportunity Campus for up to 90 days. But this timeline can vary depending on the circumstances.

"Our slogan is make home happen," Stansberry said. "Regardless of a person's mental health, substance abuse, history, incarceration, eviction. We try to move those people into housing as quickly as we possibly can. We don't want to be in the business of just warehousing folks. We are trying to transform lives."

Stansberry said he doesn't believe the addition of The Opportunity Campus will attract many homeless individuals from out of town.

"Not too many years ago, there was a national survey done on the homeless population," Stansberry said. "The results of that were that 70% of the homeless population is homeless in the community in which they because homeless."

"Our goal has always been to pay for the project with 1/3 state funding, 1/3 local government (city and county) and 1/3 private donations," Stansberry said.

$350,000 in ARPA money from Boone County will be put toward the project along with $3 million dollars in ARPA funds from the city of Columbia.

As of Monday, Stansberry said the organization said it was still working through subcontractor bids.

Stansberry says the goal of the project is to have The Opportunity Campus up and running in the next 12-15 months.