During each of the last two meetings of the Marshall City Council, Ward 4 Councilman Tom Hagedorn raised a concern about what he sees as an increase in the homeless population.

Missouri Valley Community Action Agency (MVCAA) Community Services Manager Mandy Schull said she just received some information from City Administrator David Haugland, who has been looking into a number of different things.

Schull says there is quite a bit of an increase this fiscal year. She says the MVCAA has several programs available to aid those in need. She says all of the agency’s programs are income-based, and only one who has applied has not qualified.

Schull says then they try to get the people to work with a resource specialist- kind of like a case manager- to further assess the situation to get them connected and gain some stability.

According to information Schull provided the city council, there were 222 applications for assistance in Fiscal Year 2019 for $30,872.73; 338 in Fiscal Year 2020 for $80,307.17; and thus far in Fiscal Year 2021, which began on October 1, 2020, there have been 333 applications for $90,812.91 in assistance provided.

Schull says if you are homeless or know of somebody who is homeless and in need of assistance within Saline County, contact her or the other community services manager Cortney Mullins at (660) 886-7476, ext. 1305 or 1302, respectively.