KILLEEN, Texas (Oct. 6, 2022) – The City of Killeen has partnered with the City of Temple to hire a consultant to help appropriately address homelessness in Bell County.
It is a months-long process and part of the Homeless and Mental Strategic Plan. Dr. Robert Marbut, Jr. has gathered statistics on those experiencing homelessness in Bell County. He has also conducted focus groups and invited agencies from all over the county to participate, including faith-based groups, service industries, first responders and school districts.
Marbut conducted surveys to gather data on demographics, as well as completed site visits and tours with agencies and stakeholders, including free health clinics. Marbut recently observed successfully run facilities that support individuals experiencing homelessness, including The Bridge in Dallas, Haven for Hope in San Antonio, Community First Village in Austin and Centex ARC (Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center) in Temple.
Marbut presented his initial findings to City Council on Sept. 6, addressing the five, strategic keys to successfully manage and reduce homelessness (understanding the exact problems, addressing the root causes/triggers, making big changes, improving service delivery, and ‘engaging’ vs. ‘enabling’), key data observations (including duration, gender trends, pre and post-employment numbers, homeless veteran rates and home-grown metrics).
The consultant is studying five cohorts of homeless groups in Bell County, including those in encampments, males, women, families and individuals at risk of homelessness.
A final plan is due to be completed and presented to the public and council by the end of his year.
- The City of Killeen released a video on its YouTube Channel today: https://youtu.be/X_HsTGfoHas
- Link to City of Killeen’s Sept. 23 Facebook post regarding site tours: Site Tour Link
- Link to City of Killeen’s Aug. 11 Facebook post regarding focus group meetings: Stakeholder Meeting
- Dr. Marbut’s Sept. 6 presentation to City Council can be found on our website here.