KANSAS CITY, Mo — One part of the plan to help end homelessness in KCMO is not popular with the residents who confront daily problems with the homeless.
The Zero KC plan includes limited barrier shelters, which raised concerns at a Wednesday night meeting in the city's historic Northeast neighborhood.
"I wanna do everything I can for the homeless, but aren't there other parts of the city that should, too?" a neighborhood resident asked.
A low-barrier shelter would be for people who would typically be rejected from other emergency shelters if they're dealing with substance abuse or mental conditions.
The population of those experiencing homelessness increased by 200% since 2019, according to statistics from the city.
Blaine Proctor, the city's director of housing and community development, said that is because they need more emergency shelters like this.
"I would say we could build 2,000 low barrier beds tomorrow and we'd maybe scratch the surface."
Proctor shared a sobering statistic at the meeting - the city is number one, per capita, in the country for unsheltered homeless.
"One of the things we have to look at when determining where a shelter will be located is where are the majority of the people who will look for that service?" Proctor said. "I understand their concerns about overloading the emergency system. If we're putting people in shelter overnight, there's less chance they'll be on the street."
Proctor said a recommendation will be sent to the city council in the next 30 days for the applicant and the shelter's location.
The final decision will be up to the council.
Robinson said they will try to have another community forum in her district before the final plan is sent to the council.
