T-R PHOTO BY NICK BAUR Panelists from Bridge Home, YSS of Marshall County, the Marshalltown Community School District, and the Marshalltown Police Department held a roundtable discussion with the Marshalltown City Council on Thursday evening to discuss solutions to help alleviate homelessness and housing insecurity in the area.

Community members and local advocates came together on Thursday evening to hold a roundtable discussion with the Marshalltown City Council at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in an attempt to address the pressing and complex issue of housing insecurity in the area.

The dialogue featured a quartet of panelists representing several of the human service agencies and organizations working to tackle homelessness in Marshalltown, which included Bridge Home, YSS of Marshall County, the Marshalltown Community School District and the Marshalltown Police Department.

Much like the broad and pervasive issue of homelessness itself, Thursday’s conversation touched on the many different facets and nuances when it comes to confronting it in both the short and long term.

As nearly all of the panelists reported, the current system used by advocates and service organizations has been functional, but it is severely lacking in addressing all the needs of local homeless people, especially considering recent increases in those experiencing housing insecurity largely due to economic turmoil.

“From our standpoint, with the system right now. It really is cobbled together. I think we’re all doing the best we can with what we have right now,” said Jodi Stumbo, Executive Director of Bridge Home, a homelessness support nonprofit based in Ames. “But we need to come up with some other solutions because it doesn’t work for us either. Because we know there are so many more people over here that need to get into shelter, and we want to explore every option of what that looks like going forward for Marshalltown so that we can be here.”

Currently, homeless people seeking help from local organizations take part in a process called “coordinated entry,” which involves an initial assessment of an individual’s housing needs and level of vulnerability to prioritize and match people experiencing homelessness to housing resources and support services.

Yet, with limited available space at Bridge Home, which purchases approximately four costly motel rooms each year to help those in need transition from unsheltered to long term housing — and with YSS having no short or long term housing options — those who enter into coordinated entry often have little recourse to find shelter quickly and effectively.

“We have to have a better solution… These are people that still are suffering, and they need us. They need assistance,” Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper said. “I just think we can do a better job here. So what should we do? I think it’s a problem, or a dilemma, that’s going to require a multidisciplinary approach, but I think we need emergency shelter.”

Many of the panelists, city council members, and attendees appeared to be open to the idea of a community emergency shelter, and as Stumbo explained, Bridge Home would be willing to coordinate something of the sort in Marshalltown similar to the facility they have in Ames.

“I think from our standpoint, we want to have a facility (here). Because we know the need is great. There’s people over here who need us, and honestly, this is an amazing community. You guys want to learn. You care, and you want to help,” Stumbo said. “But what is it going to look like? Are we going to have housing? Is it just going to be a SRO (single room occupancy hotel)? That’s something that we want to get direction on, from the community.”

David Hicks, the Executive Director of YSS of Marshall County, stressed that any potential solution like an emergency shelter or similar projects would need to come on the heels of leaders setting “community specific goals” particular to Marshalltown and the surrounding areas.

Though no official action was taken during the meeting, many of the community leaders unofficially resolved to start a task force composed of different individuals from all walks of life in Marshalltown in order to delve deeper into the issue and explore ways to alleviate housing insecurity.

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Contact Nick Baur at 641-753-6611 or

nbaur@timesrepublican.com.