Monterey resident wants Neighborhood Improvement Program funds to help homeless.

As the storms and bitter cold of El Niño have subsided, one resident is using a creative approach to determine where and how a warming shelter for homeless would work best in the city of Monterey. The idea is to use $25,000 from the Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP) to study the logistics of a permanent location with the belief a shelter will reduce impacts on city neighborhoods.

“I think it’s time for Monterey to do something more positive for homelessness,” says Kathleen Baker, an alternate representative to the NIP committee. “We need a solid facility and to not rely on churches to provide shelter and services.”

What the city has done is appreciated, says Baker, noting emergency vouchers for motels and funding for a temporary shelter at Monterey United Methodist Church as important steps.

While Baker is advocating a creative use of funds, a temporary shelter at the Methodist church ended April 22, having run out of money. A few days earlier, a women’s shelter run by the Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program (I-HELP) was put on indefinite hiatus because board members felt not enough women were being served.

The NIP committee was to vote on Baker’s proposal at a meeting on April 27; results were not available by the time the Weekly went to print.

The city of Monterey has also looked to increase funding for homeless service providers by installing donation meters at five heavily trafficked locations through the city. The city has allocated $339,160 in funds for homeless services since 2010.