Homeless and Mental Health Strategic Plan

The City of Killeen hired a consultant to complete a Homeless and Mental Health Strategic Plan to help appropriately address homelessness in Bell County. 

View strategic plan to reduce or eliminate homelessness in Bell County: Operation: Rise

It is a months-long process and part of the Homeless and Mental Strategic Plan. Dr. Robert Marbut, Jr. has gathered statistics on those experiencing homelessness in Bell County. He has also conducted focus groups and invited agencies from all over the county to participate, including faith-based groups, service industries, first responders and school districts.

Marbut conducted surveys to gather data on demographics, as well as completed site visits and tours with agencies and stakeholders, including free health clinics. Marbut observed successfully run facilities that support individuals experiencing homelessness, including The Bridge in Dallas, Haven for Hope in San Antonio, Community First Village in Austin and Centex ARC (Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center) in Temple.

Marbut presented his initial findings to City Council on Sept. 6, 2022, addressing the five, strategic keys to successfully manage and reduce homelessness (understanding the exact problems, addressing the root causes/triggers, making big changes, improving service delivery, and ‘engaging’ vs. ‘enabling’), key data observations (including duration, gender trends, pre and post-employment numbers, homeless veteran rates and home-grown metrics).

The consultant is studying five cohorts of homeless groups in Bell County, including those in encampments, males, women, families and individuals at risk of homelessness.

The City of Killeen’s Homeless and Mental Health Strategic Plan includes earmarked funds for the construction of a multiplex with transitional housing and hiring a Licensed Master Social Worker.

As the City progresses in the implementation phase of the plan, we do anticipate there may be a need to refine our approach to ensure that the services needed to address homelessness and mental health in our community are delivered with the intent to maximize optimum, long-term success. The City anticipates that there could be some changes coming, including a renaming and restructuring of what has been called the Arbor of Hope campus.