Mayor Reed Planning on Increasing Funding for the Homelessness Task Force

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Mayor Steven L. Reed is planning to delegate more city funds to his Task Force on Addressing Homelessness.  The initiative, which not only seeks to decrease homelessness in the city of Montgomery, also strives to put legislative measures in place that prevent people from becoming homeless in the future. 886 residents of Montgomery are considered homeless, and while “Most of the City of Montgomery is a caring community that wants to address homelessness. City residents, business owners, nonprofit service organizations, the faith community, and those in City Hall have all observed an increase in street level issues and homelessness in the past three years.” Montgomery, while slowly being considered a metropolis, is only 39 minutes from Tuskegee, AL.

886 residents of Montgomery are considered homeless

Mayor Reed decided to enact this initiative due to growing concern of the citizens of Alabama regarding “young, apparently homeless, adults loitering in the vicinity.” Additionally, the task force has identified that there are several barriers preventing them from successfully relocating all homeless people in Montgomery: many individuals in the homeless population are battling addiction which would require not only relocation but regular psychological counseling, and an overall lack of infrastructure that can support so many people. Many of the issues surrounding this task force are regarding the community reaction to the visibility of the homeless population. Many residents are worried for their safety due to the high volume of homelessness.

Despite these challenges, Mayor Reed is planning on continuing with increasing funds to this coalition. Eddie Compton III, the Senior Policy Advisor to the mayor, gave a quote on October 20^th expressing that, “We started a task force called The Mayor’s Task Force on Addressing Homelessness for this problem. We not only have a strategic plan, but also an action plan. Mayor Reed, hopefully starting in January, will delegate more funds to reduce the overall homelessness rate.” The institution of this initiative should allow for more Montgomery residents to feel safer and increase overall community involvement.

For more information, please contact the Mayor’s Office at (334) 625-2000.