Item:
Title
Approval of Contract With Nehemiah Christian Center for Day Services
Body
Date Of BOCC Meeting: June 25, 2018
Request For Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to approve the attached contract with Nehemiah Christian Center for day services and authorize the County Manager to execute it.
When the Durham County Main Library closed in January of 2017, the County Commissioners realized that a major resource for the homeless was going off-line. After investigating a number of options, the County opted with Nehemiah Christian Center at 514 N. Mangum Street (just 1.5 blocks north of the downtown loop) to provide a safe, air-conditioned space with clean bathrooms and public access computers. The center is open in the church's community room from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Library's Digital Access Center hosted in the CJRC Community Room is open many of the remaining weekend hours. In the nearly 1.5 years since opening, the center has also provided much information on other available services as well as actual referrals to those services.
Based on ongoing data collection (see attached weekly and survey summary), the majority of visitors to the center do report being homeless. Bathrooms and the ability to use computers to search for jobs and housing assistance are noted as the primary draws of the facility.
The annual contract amount of $72,000 will cover twelve monthly payments of $6,000, which cover the required day center staffing, cleaning, and utilities (internet and water and electricity). The county is also paying separately for security.
Alignment With Strategic Plan: Providing safe spaces, self-help resources and good information and referral services supports Goal 1: Community Empowerment and Enrichment and Goal 2: Health and Well-being for all of the Durham County Strategic Plan.
Resource Persons: Drew Cummings, Chief of Staff
County Manager's Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that ...
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