TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Kelly Olivera, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Christopher Cauley, MPA, Economic and Community Development Director
Albert Baker - Assistant Economic & Community Development Director
DATE: November 25, 2024
RE:
Title
Day Resource Center FY25 First Quarter Report
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
District 2
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal II: The City of Fayetteville will have a Responsive City Government supporting a diverse and viable economy.
• Objective 2.2: To invest in community places to ensure revitalization and increase quality of life
Goal IV: Desirable Place to Live, Work and Recreate
• Objective 4.6: To reduce poverty and homelessness.
Executive Summary:
The Day Resource Center is a multi-disciplinary day center for people at risk or currently experiencing homelessness. The center at 128 South King Street opened on August 21, 2023. In May 2024, Council authorized the engagement of Manna Dream Center as the operator of the DRC with a one-year contract beginning July 1, 2024. Manna Dream Center has submitted first quarter update for the City Council.
Background:
The Day Resource Center is part of the City’s transformational and critical initiatives aimed at reducing poverty and homelessness. The center is a $6.99 million project entirely grant-funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) via the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR), American Rescue Plan Act and State Capital Infrastructure Grants. The purpose is to provide a public facility that allows for resiliency within our City by increasing disaster response capacity in Fayetteville and Cumberland County, centralizing service providers, and removing barriers during non-emergency times as a day resource center. Manna as the operator has rebranded the city facility to Fayetteville Cares Day Resource Center, launched a website, and expanded services, while maintaining a clean and safe environment for individuals and families to receive critical services.
Issues/Analysis:
The Fayetteville Day Resource Center reports significant successes. The following presentation shares some of those successes and challenges with a few highlights below:
• The center has seen an increase in all services, and reports the following:
o Showers 1,553 57.05% increase
o Laundry 920 11.25% increase
o Lunches 11,051 1.55% increase
• Issued 90 one-day bus tickets and 10 thirty-day bus tickets;
• Fulfilled 349 clothing requests;
• Reports 1,121 referrals for services such as peer support, case management, identification, benefits, medical and coordinated entry to include shelter referrals;
• Nine new community partners were reported as onboarded during the quarter, with seven partners pending Memorandums of Understanding.
Manna Dream Center also reports several gaps the operator is working to address. Dental services, financial counselors, emergency mental health, shelter space, rental subsidies, additional volunteer staff, organizations to provide hot meals, and book donations were gaps identified in the report.
Budget Impact:
The City currently funds the activities at the Fayetteville Day Resource Center with $300,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Options:
• Receive the presentation.
• Do not receive the presentation.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that Council receives the information.
Attachments:
Fayetteville Cares FY2024 First Quarter Report