Make Home Happen

VAC Opportunity Campus will make a positive impact by doing its part to provide critically needed services to those experiencing homelessness. Designed using Housing First Principles, a respected, successful, and evidence-based model, there will be two key benefits to the community:

1. Multiple services housed on one campus allows for collaboration and ease of access for clients.
2. One location proving a singular point and pathway means significant clarity on where to refer individuals for help.

VAC Opportunity Campus brings to Columbia a community asset which will equip those in need with the tools and resources needed to turn their lives around and be productive, successful members of the community.

The short answer is no. Documented research tells us that around 75% of individuals experiencing homelessness reside in the local area where they became homeless. Or, in other words, they are currently living in their local city or place of origin.

Columbia has numerous longstanding resources and services to support our homeless neighbors. These community organizations have provided critically needed services to the best of their ability. VAC Opportunity Campus will bring together these organizations as well as others, housed in one campus with the ability to address complex case management and housing insecurity needs with the highest level of effectiveness and efficiencies.

The population of Boone County has increased by 44,417 (33%) in the last 20 years and there has been zero investments in affordable housing and/or shelters for residents experiencing homelessness. Notwithstanding these population increases, Columbia has not added any shelter beds (for non-veteran use) for more than 20 years. Caring for the unprotected homeless population in our community is woefully overdue! VAC Opportunity Campus will be an extraordinary community resource that will provide a level of service delivery that is innovative and unparalleled, creating the transition to permanent housing effective, seamless, and enduring.

No, VAC Opportunity Campus will not end homelessness in Columbia, however it is an important next step in addressing the needs of those experiencing homelessness. VAC Opportunity Campus will house an emergency shelter and a resource center, both of which will work together to be part of a continuum of services to address homelessness. The primary goal of VAC Opportunity campus is to make homelessness a brief, rare, nonrecurring event for the residents of Columbia and Boone County.

These terms and social concerns are similar to homelessness but not exactly the same. The City of Columbia has partnerships with outreach teams who work with these unique populations and connect them to services and other specialized social service groups. In addition, the group 4-A-Change is working with the Downtown Community Improvement District to provide services to downtown Columbia.

4-A-Change is part of VAC Opportunity Campus' Collaborative Support Network and we will be working together, supporting each other, to help all individuals experiencing homelessness.

VAC Opportunity Campus will serve homeless individuals as well as those at risk of homelessness. The overnight shelter will serve up to 125 single adult males and females daily with the capacity to accommodate 36,500 per year. In addition, the kitchen will provide up to 150 meals per day with the ability to serve 54,750 each year. The day center will provide resources to 60 individuals daily and up to 21,900 per year.

At the City of Columbia’s request, per their Request for Proposals (RFP), VAC Opportunity Campus was designed to provide a low-barrier shelter and a resource center.

To address mental health and substance abuse issues effectively and successfully, clients of Waypoint Shelter will be assigned a case manager to make assessments and determine any needed referrals. In addition, a medical clinic will be located on the campus, in the resource renter, and will provide medical, mental health, substance abuse, and dental services.

 VAC Opportunity Campus will provide housing case managers to assist individuals needing assistance, services will be available to both clients of the Shelter and the greater community. In addition, the City of Columbia has partnerships with outreach organizations that conduct street outreach to help the homeless gain access and work toward qualifying for services in other organizations.

VAC Opportunity Campus was developed and designed using evidence-based research and highly effective local, regional, and national best practices. VAC will utilize Housing First principles created by the US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). The USICH is a federal agency with the sole mission of preventing and ending homelessness. According to USICH, “It [the Housing First approach] is based on overwhelming evidence that people experiencing homelessness can achieve stability in permanent housing if provided with the appropriate level of services.” The highest level of success is attained when those experiencing homelessness are placed in permanent housing without any conditions for treatment or other barriers. This type of placement is called low-barrier.

VAC Opportunity Campus will provide employment services through a partner agency. This is currently in the planning phases and the specific partner will be announced after a formal agreement is in place.

Our goal is to transition clients of VAC Opportunity Campus from the shelter to permanent housing in 50-90 days, which will be dependent on the inventory level of low-income housing .

To address the shortage of affordable housing in the Columbia community, area housing organizations are exploring the possibility of building affordable housing on the site of VAC Opportunity Campus. These future facilities would complement and work in tandem with The Opportunity Campus and would be a separate plan not included in the current capital costs to build VAC Opportunity Campus. The timeline for adding affordable housing on site at VAC Opportunity Campus is a minimum of five years (2030 or later).

Future operational costs of VAC Opportunity Campus will be sustained through rental income from VAC partners, Public Health funding, City and County Funding, United Way, private fundraising, and faith community support.

In early 2020, increased momentum development to address the longstanding and urgent need to support the homeless neighbors of Columbia, MO. During this time, numerous organizations working the front lines of homelessness in Columbia gathered to research possible solutions. In 2021, and as a result of a bold request, the Voluntary Action Center (VAC) agreed to serve as the lead agency in planning, constructing, and funding a low-barrier emergency shelter.

VAC Opportunity Campus will not end homelessness in Columbia, however it is an important next step in addressing the needs of those experiencing homelessness. VAC Opportunity Campus will house an emergency shelter and a resource center, both which will work together to be part of a continuum of services to address homelessness.

VAC Opportunity Campus Shelter will provide the following support services:

• Open year-round 365
• Open all day 24/7
• 150 emergency beds
• Meal Service
• Laundry facilities
• Showers
• Secured storage
• Kennel facilities
• Computer lab
• Physical mailing address
• Mailing services
• Medical and dental clinic
• Substance abuse treatment
• Mental health treatment
• Drop-in center
• Case Management
• Life skills training
• Employment assistance