Twelve storage lockers are now installed inside Saint Vincent De Paul’s resource center in Des Moines. The lockers mark the start of the city’s new pilot program, which aims to address a significant barrier people without housing face — not having a way to keep their belongings safe.
Des Moines partnered with Saint Vincent De Paul to implement the program, which started on Nov. 2.
CEO Steve Havemann said losing essential items, like identification, is the ultimate barrier for people experiencing homelessness.
“If they’re able to get back into the workplace, they need that critical documentation day one in order to get onboarded,” Havemann said. “So, if they’re losing it, that’s going to set them back 30 days, the employer might not wait — probably won’t wait — that extra 30 days to onboard someone.”
Whether living in an encampment or shelter, on the street or staying with other people, the homeless population usually has most of their belongings on their back.
Even if they can keep track of their items, Havemann said that doesn’t guarantee their items are safe.
“One of the challenges I know that so many of the folks that are coming to use are facing, is when they’re camping or if they’re staying somewhere that isn’t a residence, things are being stolen, there’s a lot of violence,” he said.
Havemann said around 10% of the people coming to Saint Vincent De Paul for help are experiencing homelessness.
Des Moines city staff spoke with several local service providers and homeless individuals prior to the start of the pilot. Most of those individuals said that many of their daily obstacles stemmed from losing possessions like identification, prescriptions and other valuable items.
Havemann said he hopes the pilot gives those people one less thing to worry about.
“Hopefully this really provides a sense of dignity, mitigates some of the barriers individuals are facing when they’re already experiencing homelessness, and just makes their life simpler,” he said.
Havemann added that the placement of the lockers is intentional. They’re sitting in Saint Vincent De Paul’s resource center, which also has a basic education center for adults, Safe Babies court team and a food and clothing pantry.
“We know that if we try to refer folks to additional services, after about 60 feet they’re more likely to not make it than make it,” Havemann explained. “Even if they know that there’s someone waiting for them and ready to welcome them with additional services, there’s less than a 20% chance that they’re actually going to make it there if they need to leave the facility and get on a bus.”
He said the pilot is one more addition to what he calls a “one-stop shop” for those in need.
The 12 storage lockers are free to use and only require an application. Havemann said people can’t store anything illegal in them, but they are welcome to put any of their belongings in their locker and access it whenever they need to. They’re also fit with biometric fingerprint locks, so users don’t have to worry about losing a key.
The pilot will span six months, and users can renew their free lease up to six times during it. Havemann said they’ll present a report to the city at the end of the pilot that outlines the program’s benefits.
“Over 2,000 individuals experiencing homelessness in the metro are coming through our doors each year. So that’s much more than 12, obviously pretty significant need,” Havemann said. “I think this is just kind of piloting to see how well this fills a gap in the community, and maybe after six months, who knows, maybe there’s room to expand it.”
