Fort Wayne, Indiana, council votes 5-3 against funding downtown homeless shelter

Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker has led a proposal to transform a building at 333 East Washington Boulevard into the Anchor Resource Center, which is intended to provide essential services to individuals experiencing homelessness. A resolution before the Fort Wayne City Council sought $2,750,000 for the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission to acquire, develop, and construct the Homeless Resource Center. One report describes the plan as a low-barrier homeless shelter.

Opposition and concern about the proposal came from several directions. Council member Russ Jehl opposed the plan, arguing that it could worsen downtown vibrancy and security challenges. Tucker proposed a full downtown police district to enhance security around the proposed shelter. A group called “Safe Schools Fort Wayne” started an online petition urging the city to reconsider, and a public forum on the proposal drew significant attention.

The City Council held two consecutive weeks of lengthy sessions on the project, with both meetings lasting over three hours. At the June 9 meeting, a public hearing drew nearly 50 speakers, and over half of the attendees at the hearing expressed support for the project. Rev. Anne Epling, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church, spoke in favor of the Anchor Resource Center and highlighted its security measures and accountability structures. Before the delay, council members had raised concerns about the center’s funding and conditions.

One report says the council delayed its vote on the project until September, and that Tucker responded by requesting that the vote be moved to August 11. Another report says that the Fort Wayne City Council voted 5-3 against funding a proposed downtown homeless shelter. The reports do not give a date for the 5-3 vote, and the materials available do not explain how the September delay and the 5-3 vote relate to each other.

Tucker has made homelessness a central focus of her administration, a commitment that reflects care for people who often have little voice in public decisions (Proverbs 31:8-9). After the council vote, Tucker described the decision as “disheartening” in a recent op-ed.