A 20 million dollar expansion of Tacoma's largest homeless shelter could be hitting a roadblock, according to a report from the Tacoma News Tribune.
The project will add 24,000 new square feet to the Tacoma Rescue Mission shelter on South Tacoma Way. That is enough room to allow up to 314 people to stay there each night.
However, the Tacoma Rescue Mission's executive director says the program might not be able to use that extra space. The reason, he says, is that the program's contract does not provide enough funding for the staffing increases the expanded shelter would require.
Right now, the shelter has two people on shift at all times. The expanded shelter would need an extra person to help handle the additional workload created by the larger space.
Beyond the overnight shift, the executive director says the shelter would also need to increase staffing on its hospitality team and would need to add three more social workers to support the people staying there.
Construction on the expanded shelter is expected to finish by the end of the year, leaving questions over whether the additional capacity can be fully used without more funding for staff.
The Tacoma Rescue Mission is described as the largest homeless shelter in the city, and the expansion had been intended to significantly increase the number of people it can take in each night.