Samaritan INN the Community
October was a busy month for the Inn! Although the news broke in the beginning of November, inside work was being done during October to ready ourselves for taking over programming from CLC. This included very important meetings with utility companies to discuss and set up the utility assistance services that will begin in the new year. Grants that need to be carried over were discussed and planned, all while everyone went into overdrive to keep the pantry going in light of SNAP benefits being halted and the government shutting down. It was also a month of ordinances for the Inn. Every day was spent in discussions, reflective thought, and research. How would the ordinances affect us? When? To what extent would or could our services be changed? Who would be the most hurt by them, and where was there a silver lining?
To kick off October and the new fiscal year, at Collin County Homeless Coalition, we got a group picture to help buoy the sad news of the Dallas Furniture Bank closing and what that could mean for those neighbors we work to get newly housed, having anything inside those homes. During the McKinney Homeless Coalition Strategy meeting, we discussed the upcoming ordinances, warming stations, and what the end-of-the-year plans could be. Making sure things are in place and actions happening were topics amid deciphering what would be affected by the government shutdown. To offset the stressors of the unknown, the Inn was happy to be represented at the United Way Fair at the Federal Reserve in Dallas. It was good to talk about what the Inn provides while working to get others involved with time and information. Already, this fair has led to more sharing of our work and opportunities for getting more people involved!
In the monthly Texas Health Collin County 1st Collaborative, we began talking about next steps and how to make sure the actions of this group are impactful. Whether we are creating standards for our community in describing and rating collaborations or better defining the needs’ priorities, change must happen. This conversation of change in the face of external crisis was continued at the event with First United’s A Seat at the Table: Food Insecurity Roundtable. Creating and highlighting partnerships to ensure mouths are fed in our community was the top priority of the morning. It was a great energizer before Cristel Todd with the City of McKinney presented at the next installment of INNsights Town Hall: Affordable Housing.
The end of the month found the Inn working with partner agencies to discuss warming station plans and the new Street Outreach (SOAR) programming for the city. SOAR and the new Better Together Initiative for the city were proposed and accepted at the city council meeting, putting both square in the middle of the path forward for the Inn. As a key stakeholder in the Better Together initiative, the Inn’s work on the McKinney Homeless Coalition will be integral. Outside of the immediate area, the Inn also worked with the greater Continuum of Care in the System Leadership Community Planning. As those outside forces continue to change and threaten to end, our entire system responding to homelessness across Dallas and Collin County has to plan and work toward continued services through various possible futures. Our work has just begun, and the coming months will hold more work and planning than ever before.
