The City of Birmingham could spend over half a million dollars on property for a homeless camp.
On Tuesday, the Birmingham City Council sent a resolution approving up to $600,000 of opioid settlement money for the project to the Committee of the Whole (COW) for further consideration.
Urban Alchemy would manage the location, which would provide hydration, snacks, restrooms, naloxone and would have a 24/7 on-site care coordinator. Those supporting the effort said the area would keep homeless people out of private property.
Council District 2 representative Hunter Williams has concerns that the area would turn into an open-air drug market.
"The folks, the practitioners, who, according to the website, are felons, which is fine, are going to be there on a day-to-day basis," Williams said. "However, there are a lot of highly-paid individuals, like four IT people, that the pay scale swamps the actual people that will be providing the services while they're there. I want to know if there's actually wrap-around services provided or if we're creating an open-air drug market, if it is just having bathrooms and Narcan in a place that the city brings people to that are utilizing narcotics."
Urban Alchemy already has contracts with Birmingham, but the resolution would create the "Birmingham Oasis" and staff more homeless outreach services.
Last month in Texas, the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless decided not to renew a contract with the California-based Urban Alchemy. Officials said the nonprofit reported five of its own employees changed data showing how homeless people move through the system. Williams asked about the issue, and the council then went into executive session.
The council emerged from executive session and voted to refer the issue to the COW.
Urban Alchemy also operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, Culver City, Portland and Santa Fe.
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