KILLEEN, Texas (Oct. 22, 2024) – The Killeen City Council approved a plan to enter into a professional services agreement for the design phase of an emergency homeless shelter, following a staff presentation that provided an update on the Homeless and Mental Health Strategic Plan. The contract would cost $255,970.
The emergency shelter, also known as the reunification center, would be approximately 11,500 square feet on 408 and 506 Liberty Street, and will provide a range of services to the public.
MRB Group is the vendor and confirmed the entire process would last 12-15 months. Staff confirmed the shelter would be open every day and run similar to the current shelter in the city. The City will construct the facility and it would be staffed by a service provider.
The City of Killeen has designated nearly $3.3 million in local and federal funds for the construction of the Killeen Reunification Center. The Plan includes earmarked funds for the construction of a multiplex with transitional housing and hiring a Licensed Master Social Worker.
The Homeless and Mental Health Strategic Plan was adopted in February 2023 after staff worked with a consultant in a months-long process of gathering statistics and conducting focus groups to study those experiencing homelessness in Bell County and appropriately address the issue.
The Plan aims to address five, strategic ways to successfully managing and reduce homelessness, including understanding the exact problems, addressing the root causes/triggers, making big changes, improving service delivery, and ‘engaging’ vs. ‘enabling,’ as well as key data observations, including duration, gender trends, pre and post-employment numbers, homeless veteran rates and home-grown metrics.
The City has had information and videos on our website since Council adopted the plan. Citizens can find it on www.KilleenTexas.gov/EndHomelessness.