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MCSTJTES OF THE ORONO WLANMNG COMMISSION WORK SESSION <br />ON DOMESTIC ABUSE SHELTERS HELD ON JANUARY 6, 1995 <br />to deal with this matter. Lindquist commented that we should be looking at this in context of <br />the general community, not just within Orono’s city boundaries. Mabusth agreed, and noted that <br />the applicants acknowledge that, and have presented their application as being of benefit to the <br />general Lake Minnetonka area. Mabusth noted that in her contacts with the Westonka and <br />Orono school district personnel regarding this issue, they did not recognize city boundaries in <br />dealing with the problem. Schroeder suggesteu that it is somewhat difficult for Orono s <br />Planning Commission to look at the area-wide issue, although that is what is needed. Mabusth <br />present^ a map ot the Lake area noting the Navarre location in relation to the area to be served. <br />Not onlv the service area but the population served would be greatly increased by a shelter at <br />this location, as compared to Westonka Intervention’s current service area which is generally <br />the northwesterly quadrant of Lake Minnetonka. Mabusth questioned whether the use of the <br />shelter was limited to, or gave priority to. residents of the defined service area, i^ebber <br />suggested that the shelter would e.xist to serve its local community, but there certairdv are <br />informal agreements between shelters that encourage referrals to other shelters when one is full. <br />Webber noted that the outreach and educational efforts, however, generally are confined to the <br />service area. <br />Turning to the funding issue, Schroeder asked how is the project funded, how much docs it cost, <br />where is the money going to come from. <br />Webber advised that Westonka was approved for a $210,000 grant from the Minnesota Housing <br />Authority. <br />Schroeder asked whether Minnesota Housing Authority is the entity that funds most shelters. <br />Webber replied no they haven’t traditionally funded shelters, and that is not necessarily part of <br />their mission. For various reasons, the MHA Board chose to fund a shelter in this rather than <br />some other use. Webber noted that shelters in this area have traditionally been funded by the <br />Department of Corrections, both from their State allocation and Federal monies. Apparently the <br />current available funds are spoken for, but if the Legislature allocates more money to the <br />Department ot corrections, there may be competitive requests for use of ttat additional <br />allocation. She noted that shelters generally rely on their per diem as reviewed by the <br />Department of Human Services. <br />Mabusth confirmed that the per diem is funding administered by Department of Human Services <br />over which the Department of Corrections docs budgetary review, Hessberg noted Westonka <br />Intervention is currently raising approximately $30,000 per year from various sources. Webber <br />indicated they were hoping for a grant from the McKnight Foundation in the foreseeable future. <br />Webber noted that Westonka Intervention would have to follow a similar track as other non­ <br />profit organizations preparing a plan for fund raising from all of the potential sources. She also <br />has suggested that over time Westonka Intervention develop a political strategy to convince <br />County Commissioners to allocate funding. <br />8