Polk County is exploring sites for homeless family housing
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Polk County is working to convert an existing property — likely a hotel or similar building — into a centralized site where families experiencing homelessness can stay temporarily while receiving services to get back on their feet.
Why it matters: The county's current approach of paying for short-term hotel stays is becoming more expensive and less effective as family homelessness rises and shelters remain full.
Driving the news: The county has set aside $3.5 million to acquire and renovate a property, Rachel Adams, a supervisor at Polk County Behavioral Health & Disability Services, tells Axios.
- The effort stems from the "Blueprint to Address Homelessness," a plan implemented through a public-private partnership, with Polk County leading efforts to increase family shelter capacity.
Catch up quick: Polk County has long depended on short-term hotel stays to house families when shelters are full, a temporary solution that has expanded rapidly in recent years.
- The approach is meant to be temporary, but families often remain in limbo because shelter space is consistently unavailable.
By the numbers: Polk County housed 124 families for 270 nights in the fiscal year that ended in June 2022, compared to 768 families for more than 4,000 nights last year, Polk County Health Department Director Eric Kool told Axios.
- Annual spending on hotel placements has increased from about $25,000 five years ago to over $400,000, Kool told supervisors at a recent budget meeting.
- Rising housing costs, inflation and the 2023 closure of a family shelter program have all contributed to the spike, he said.
Zoom in: County leaders are now looking to redirect some of that growing spending toward a more permanent, service-centered solution that Adams describes as a "family stabilization center."
- The goal is to make the site turnkey, likely for a nonprofit operator to manage.
State of play: Key factors in selecting a site include access to bus lines, grocery stores and medical care.
- The county is prioritizing adaptive reuse over new construction to speed up the project and cut costs.
- Sites in Urbandale and Pleasant Hill have been reviewed, but no decisions have been made.
What's next: Adams said she hopes to have something in place by the end of 2026, though there's no firm deadline linked to the funding.