KILLEEN, Texas (KXXV) — Friends in Crisis, a Killeen shelter serving neighbors experiencing homelessness, could be forced to close after the city council denied its funding request amid a tight budget for fiscal year 2027.
William Hall opened the Friends in Crisis shelter in 2015, driven by a passion to serve the community. Now, after being denied $300,000 needed to continue operating, the shelter faces potential closure during one of its highest-demand periods — the Texas heat.
"Currently we're running on a shoestring, per se. We're currently out of funding for this fiscal year, so we're using our reserves," Hall said.
Hall said securing funding for homeless services has been a persistent challenge at every level of government.
"Homeless is the hardest thing to get funded everywhere and the federal government just doesn't have enough money to fund the homeless, and it's not one of their priorities. Any successful programs has the backing of the city," Hall said.
Hall said the shelter is already preparing for significant changes.
"We will have a bigger need for this, but at this point, we would not be able to take any more calls. We're in the process of repurposing this building into a housing program," Hall said.
Council Member at Large Mellissa Brown pushed for Friends in Crisis to receive partial funding, but no other council member supported her motion. Brown said she does not want to see the city without a homeless shelter, a reality she has witnessed before.
"I was at Tent City almost every day when it was open, after the shelter closed down. We can't have another situation like that. It's unhealthy for those individuals. They don't get the help and support that they need at that point," Brown said.
Brown said she advocated for a middle-ground approach to keep the shelter operational.
"We really need to make sure we're doing everything we can to support it without actually funding the entire thing. So that's why I recommended that we fund at least our operational budget," Brown said.
Brown said the door is not closed on funding before the budget is finalized and invites residents to reach out, attend the meetings and contribute to the conversation.
"It's not over yet though. We haven't made a final decision on the budget until it passes in September, so we still have a couple of opportunities to bring it back and try to get them some," Brown said.
Brown said hard decisions must be made as the budget continues to be reviewed. Even with other nonprofits attempting to fill the gaps, she said there would still be a lack of overnight shelters.
"We have some organizations trying to stand up and fill in the gap, so Armor of God is opening a new facility over on Gilmer, but that is a daytime facility only. There would still be no place for our homeless to go get out of the elements, to have a roof over their head, to be in an environment where they can feel kind of safe when they go to sleep at night," Brown said.
"With some of the other decisions that have been made recently, there is the potential that the city would be adding to our overall homeless population. So every resource matters right now," Brown said.
Brown said the community must not lose sight of who is being affected.
"They are still part of our community. Everybody is one tragedy away from being homeless. I don't care how much money you currently have, you're one tragedy away. We have to remember where we come from," Brown said.
The city still has until September to finalize its budget, meaning some funding could still be allocated to Friends in Crisis.
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