MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — Mission Waco's Creekside Community project faces delays after losing more than a million dollars in EPA funding, but still aims to open 35 affordable housing units for homeless residents by year's end.
- Mission Waco is making progress on its supportive housing plan for the city's homeless population, but recent funding cuts from the Environmental Protection Agency will cause some delays in the project.
- Despite the setbacks, Mission Waco still plans to have 35 affordable housing units ready by December or January.
- People currently experiencing homelessness, like Debbie Bridges, emphasize the urgent need for this housing to be completed "as soon as possible."
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Mission Waco is making progress on its supportive housing plan for the city's homeless population, but recent funding cuts from the Environmental Protection Agency will cause some delays in the project.
"If you look at our kitchen and our bath house, you'll see that those are already being constructed, and the wash house is being constructed, and those should be done sometime around August," said John Calaway, Executive Director of Mission Waco.
The organization has raised nearly $11 million for the Creekside Community project, but still needs about $4 million more to complete it. A significant portion of that funding was expected to come from an EPA grant.
"We've raised almost 11 million, and so we have about 4 million left to complete the project, and about a million and a half of that was this grant funding that we're going to have to figure out where this is going to come from," said John Calaway.
Nearly 800 nonprofits across the country are losing a combined $40 million in federal funding. For Mission Waco, this loss has forced several cutbacks to their Creekside Community project, including:
- Removing HVAC systems from all buildings
- Reducing roads, driveways and landscaping
- Eliminating creek reinforcement
- Cutting flood mitigation measures
Calaway explained that some planned facilities will now be delayed.
"So we may take some funds that we had originally allocated for a particular commercial building and just have to push that maybe into next year or the year after, like our maintenance building, the convenience store, possibly the welcome home center," said Calaway.
These delays are particularly difficult for people currently experiencing homelessness, like Debbie Bridges.
"Sleeping out here it's not safe," said Bridges.
When asked how soon a project like this could be useful, Bridges responded, "Soon as possible, soon as possible, before the end of this year."
Despite the setbacks, Calaway emphasized that the core elements of the project remain on track.
"We've got to have 35 affordable units by the end of December, as well as our wash house and our kitchen that our studio homes will use. And so that's still on target. We're still planning to have folks living out by the end of December or January," said Calaway.
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