City to fund case manager for Margaret Bach supportive-housing pilot with county and nonprofits

The Cedar Rapids City Council authorized a memorandum of agreement on July 22 to fund a case manager position at the Margaret Bach housing site as part of a supportive-housing pilot run by the Housing Fund for Linn County and local partners.

Laura Shaw, homeless systems manager, described the Margaret Bach Housing Collaborative pilot as a program that "targets individuals experiencing homelessness" who are high users of medical and legal services and provides intensive wraparound services to stabilize housing and transition participants into market-rate housing. The Margaret Bach facility is located at 1021 Third Avenue Southeast and the city will provide up to $104,000 per year for a HACAP-provided case manager on a three-year commitment.

Funding and partners: the citys contribution is drawn from the existing homeless services budget and will be matched with rental assistance from the Housing Fund for Linn County, rapid-rehousing dollars through Waypoint, Linn County general assistance for rent subsidies, and wraparound services from community providers including ASAP, CRUSH and Eastern Iowa Health.

Council members praised the collaborative approach. The resolution authorizing the agreement was approved; staff said the pilot is intended to increase capacity for supportive housing and to leverage existing nonprofit services rather than create a new standalone program.

Why it matters: the pilot aims to move chronically homeless individuals into stabilized housing with onsite case management and coordinated services, an approach that officials said can reduce high-cost emergency-system use and help participants regain housing stability.