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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-03-26 90-140 ORDERP. Date March 26.V 1990 Item No. 90-140 Item/Subject: crept Application for Wellspririgr Inc. Responsible Department: Health and Welfare Commentary: itis is a grant application to the Maine State Mousing Authority — on behalf of Wellepriugt Inc. . fir emergeswy shelter funds available under the Stewart B. McKinney Act. Application must be made then and the grant administered by the Iocel municipality. A copy of a letter explaining the proposed use of these Yards is attached for your information. fmmens xeid Manager's Comments: ey Manager Associazed Information:0 / Budget Approval: Fina ce Dim Legal Approval: GtY Sdiairor Introduce! For ]passage ❑ First Heading page -j— Of ❑Referral 90-140 Introduced by Councilor Baldacci, parch 26, 1990 _ CITY OF BANGOR TL (TITLE.) (ffirL¢r, Autrorlaing. the... City Manager ta..kAM" a Grant Ag meat .... xith the Maine State Xou Auttnrity Wellsprings Inc. By Nu CUM Coeaeit ofNie My of Baa .' TUT the City Managers on behalf of the City of Bangor, is hereby aubhoeised and directed to execute a Great Agreement with the MafneState Housing Autboritys a ropy of Which is on file in the Office of the City Clerks and to take ell other necessary actions including execution of docsments and contracts for the purposes of p lding emergency shelter at Wellsprings Inc. mm ORDER IN CITY COUNCIL Title, March 26, 1990 Passed Authorising the -City Manager co Rxe a Grant Agreement v4fi the Maine St CITY CLERK MOua//i]]n�d& Antharity-WellepringeIDptl `In4o�-�duc�ped®®and filed by Gouncilman � 90-140 WELLSPRING, INC. Mena 11e11wq Nave Mmiiollive Onkes Women's Nellwy Nesse 98 NmberhM street imled RebmM fimgm, Mine 01401 Om-feamt se1111w 201aG1-I6m at s.x IKeeper March 16, 1990 207941-160 Ms. Mary -Anne T. Chalila Directore Dept. of Health and Welfare City of Bangor 103 Texas Ave. Bangor, ME 09901 Dear Ms. Chalila: As you and Jill Hartel discussed by telephone, Wellspring intends to apply for Emergency Shelter Grant. monies that are available through the Maine State Housing Authority. As you know, we apply for these funds through the City of Bangor. Will the City agree to apply for these funds with us] We plan to apply for funds for two purposes, both of which are urgent needs. The first purpose is similar to our request for funds that was approved for the current fiscal year. The State of Maine, which is a major funding source for Wellspring, isfacinga major budget deficit. As a result We will not receive any Increase In funds for fiscal year 1991 and may possibly experience some decreases. At the least, static funding jeopardizes the Wellspring program because of .rising coats, especially In those areas like utilities where Wellspring has little to no control over price. Wellspring received $11,000 In funding through the Emergency Shelter Grant Program for FY 90 for rent and utility costs. With static funding, we have no funds available to replace the ESGP funds if they are not available to us again. We intend to apply for this Same level of funding plus 01900 to cover increases in utility costs. The second purpose for which we are applying for funds is to enable us to better meet State of Maine licensing requirements and ensure the safety of the clients in our adolescent rehabilitation program, Project Rebound. In a finding from a licensing visit last April, Wellspring must have two staff on the premises of the adolescent facility at all times. We need another 20 hours per week of a substance abuse counselor in order to meet that requirement. We also need to upgrade a current position to provide supervision for evening staff. Currently, supervision in the evening is available to staff only on an on-call basis. As evening is a very active time for the adolescents because most of the school and counseling program happens during the day, most of the more intense problems and crises happen in the evening. We expect the coat of these needed changes In staffing to be 011,550. A#L AgMy efu> Oredd hur dPwka;tVak 10 90-140 Page 2 Challlai March 16, 1990 Obtaining these ESOP funds is critical to Wellspring's ability to continue serving the number of adult and adolescent homeless substance abusers that we are serving now. Residen- tial programs like Wellspring have very few options available when budget cuts are necessary because so much of the budget is tied up in fixed costs like rent and utilities. Staffing is the most flexible coat, but staff reductions result in fewer people served. Without the amount of ESaP funds that we will be requesting for rent and utilities, we will have to reduce our adult program by one staff position, thereby reducing the beds available in the adult program by four. This will man that 17 fewer people will have the opportunity to receive halfway house substance abuse treatment next year. The funds that we are applying for in the adolescent program could mean the difference between our receiving a license renewal for our current 12 bed program or being cut to 6 beds because of our inability to provide the minimum staffing coverage 29 hours per day, 7 days per week. A reduction in beds from 12 to 6 would mean Wellspring would serve 20 fewer teenagers next year. If you have any further questions about what we intend to apply for funds for, please call me or Jill Maxtel. We will have a final draft of the grant application for your review to you on March 23, as you requested. Please let us know of the City's decision. Sincerely, / Mmxjary dw� Executive Director