City Council to consider homelessness study from central Florida’s Sharity, Inc.
Study price tag around $92,000
The Joplin City Council Monday night will learn more about a Homelessness Strategic Plan proposal from Sharity, Inc. of Winter Park, Florida.
In January, the city put out a request for proposal (RFP) for consulting services for the development of a Strategic Plan. Joplin Assistant Manager Tony Robyn says the city received five responses from which Sharity was chosen.
Robyn says those participating in the RFP process and final review included our Joplin Homeless Coalition Partners, the Proposition Use Tax Committee, and an internal city staff review team.
Sharity is an SBA-certified woman owned business. Wick began her career as a trauma therapist for child abuse survivors and served for nearly a decade as CEO of a 150-bed domestic violence and human trafficking shelter serving over 10,000 people annually.
Wick says three of Sharity’s team members have led homeless shelters.
Past projects for the four-woman team have included a homeless drop-in center feasibility study in Orlando, Florida, a plan for the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida (HSN).
In a letter to the city of Joplin, Sharity CEO Carol Wick describes a five-phase, eight-month-long process that will include initial planning, data analysis, community mapping, town halls and report finalization. If adopted this month, the report would be complete sometime around January 2024.
In all, it will cost Joplin taxpayers about $92,000 for Sharity to develop a strategy to address homelessness in the City of Joplin.