Government Funding & Human Service Nonprofits

In Sacramento there are discussions about turning over the government's help for the homeless to nonprofits, and in St. Louis, as reported by St Louis Today, nonprofits helping the homeless are asking for the money owed to them by the government.

Not a pretty picture anyway you look at it, and those who need help the most, the homeless and others—such as the domestic violence victims in the St. Louis article—continue to suffer from a disorganized method of help, all too often made worse by government’s involvement.

A terrific book to read for some foundational knowledge around this issue is, To Empower People: From State to Civil Society, by Peter Berger and Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, and here is an excellent review of it.

An excerpt from the St Louis article.

“Nonprofit groups contracted by the government to provide basic shelter for the city's homeless and domestic violence victims are frustrated because they have been stuck holding the bills for months.

“The agencies began providing services for this year's federal emergency shelter grant in January. None of the $870,000 in grant money has been paid.

“The St. Louis Department of Human Services, specifically its homeless services unit, has administered such grants for years. Director William Siedhoff said Tuesday that he is disturbed by the "tremendous lag" in payments this year and assured checks would be cut sometime next month.

“Siedhoff said he became aware of the situation last month.

"There has got to be a better way to do this, and I am going to figure out how to do it," he said. "I know the hardship this creates."

“The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. James Heard, director of HUD's St. Louis office, said the money has been delayed this year because the city had provided incomplete paperwork about how the housing grant was used in previous years.

“He said this year's money was cleared for release last month.He was surprised to find out Tuesday that the nonprofit groups are still in limbo.

"We are concerned," he said. "They need to be paid."

“The delay has caused some nonprofit groups — already strapped by a heightened demand for services — to dip into reserves, lean on lines of credit and cut back on items as inexpensive as bus tickets.

"We have a really small margin of error," said Michelle Schiller-Baker, executive director of St. Martha's Hall, which helps abused women and their children. "We don't have bus money to get to that doctor's appointment, to get to that job interview."

“She said the city owes her agency $35,800 in housing grant money. It's just a sliver of the nonprofit group's $900,000 annual budget, but Schiller-Baker said "every single penny is accounted for."

"Regardless of what amount it is of our budget at the shelter," she said, "you owe me the money, you better give it to me."

“Lydia's House, which provides transitional housing for domestic violence victims, is owed $27,000.”

"We are looking forward to getting that funding," said executive director Ellen Reed. "We haven't had to cut programs, but it has certainly made things tight. We have had to dig into our reserves."

"Catholic Charities Chief Financial Officer Colleen Dusek said its Housing Resource Center for the homeless is owed $80,000. She said the agency experienced similar delays last year. The center has covered its costs with a line of credit from the Archdiocese of St. Louis."