Sangamon County is spending $10.5 million to upgrade two buildings. Here's why
Big plans are in the works for two Sangamon County government buildings, with a new homeless shelter planned for unused space at the Juvenile Detention Center and Regional Office of Education #51 and an expansion of services at the Department of Public Health headquarters.
Both announcements were made in the last two months and include upgrades to the SCDPH and a partnership with Helping Hands of Springfield.
With plenty of work ahead, here's a look at the projects.
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What is the expansion of the SCDPH building going to look like?
The county has purchased two lots behind the current SCDPH facility on South Grand Avenue East in order to expand services, including new space for a Southern Illinois University School of Medicine clinic; offices for a wide range of social services, including LIHEAP, home weatherization, sewer assistance and housing assistance, among others; and other health-related initiatives, such as physicals, flu shots, blood pressure screenings and even a clinic for sexually-transmitted diseases.
Sangamon County Board Chairman Andy Van Meter said that the expanded facility will provide greater convenience for people with programs coming under one roof.
"The county, the township and the Department of Public Health all provide services to those people in need of assistance," Van Meter said. "A lot of times, it's the same clientele that has different needs. The effort here is to try and locate as many of those solutions for them in one location. This is something we've been working on, step-by-step for quite some time, but we're now going to be able to add a couple of more critical components."
When the project was introduced in October, District 12 County Board member Linda Fulgenzi, chair of the Community Resource Committee, said that with more being invested in programs, more people needed to be hired in order to best serve the community. With more people, she said, came a need for more space to suit the continued evolution of these programs.
"What has happened is that we need more intake people because we have received more money," Fulgenzi said. "We need more people in order to do that, which means we need more space."
Fulgenzi pointed out that the county's zoning department had occupied some space in the current facility, but it would not be enough to suit all that is being added alongside the health department.
"We like to keep it private for our clients that come in," Fulgenzi said. "We just need more space."
What's the partnership with Helping Hands?
The county is providing space for a Helping Hands emergency shelter at the South Dirksen Parkway complex. More than 20,000 square feet will be reconfigured allowing Helping Hands to give the homeless basic day services and other assistance.
According to Van Meter, the project came about almost by accident. With a need to find a permanent home for the SMART transportation system for rural residents in Sangamon and Menard counties, the county entered negotiations to buy Helping Hands' current facility on East Washington Street. While the agency agreed, they also wanted the county's help in finding a new, permanent home.
"We looked around and in the process, realized that we had about 20,000 square feet at the juvenile center that we had not been using for the past 5-6 years," Van Meter said. "We said to them, 'Would that space work adequately for the services that you want to provide if we fix it up to meet your requirements?' The Helping Hands staff went out and took a look at it. I think they were initially skeptical before they took a look at it, but they went through it with an architect and we paid the architect to redesign the space to their specifications."
Laura Davis, executive director of Helping Hands, said that the facility will focus on trying to ensure that the area's growing homeless population has a permanent place to go beyond the temporary shelter being moved to Dirksen.
"Our goal is to have a housing-focused low-barrier shelter," Davis said. "When people come in, we're talking about, 'What's your housing plan?', providing the services that will help move them in that direction."
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How much will the projects cost?
The SCDPH upgrades will cost $5.5 million with Helping Hands' move out to Dirksen will cost $5 million towards renovations. Van Meter said that funds from the American Rescue Plan would cover the cost of both projects.
When will projects be completed?
Davis and Van Meter expect the new shelter to be ready by late fall of 2023, with Van Meter saying that the project is one that is an important component of the county's strategy to address homelessness.
"We offer a lot of temporary housing but we need this transition link that helps people re-train themselves to transition into standing on their own two feet," Van Meter said. "This is that link, but the final link is permanent housing that they can move into."
The SCDPH project is scheduled for completion in late 2023-early 2024.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Here's what to know about upgrades at two Sangamon County buildings
