Mayor Tucker responds to concerns over proposed homeless services center

UPDATE (June 17, 2026):

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker responded to calls for more work to be done before the City brings a homeless services center to the downtown area.

Fort Wayne City Council had previously delayed a vote on funding for the low-barrier shelter until September. Mayor Tucker responded with a detailed plan to address concerns, which she believes can happen relatively quickly.

Mayor Tucker is hoping for a vote on the funds to be moved to August and released the following:

To: Fort Wayne Common Council From: Mayor Sharon Tucker

Date: June 16, 2026

Re: Five-point response

There appears to be near unanimous agreement between the Council and my Administration that something needs to be done about the challenge Fort Wayne is facing regarding homelessness. My Administration has spent more than two years researching ways to address this challenge. Some action has been taken (e.g. hiring a homeless services manager and introducing and administering a new transient drop-off ordinance). The Council also has been briefed about efforts to acquire and renovate a building that could be used as a homeless resource center. The Council has had the opportunity to provide input into the plan for a homeless resource center. In fact, Council members have delivered requirements that have been met only to be followed by changes to those requirements and new requirements to be added.

Tuesday (6/9/26), Council was asked to appropriate and pledge funds to the acquisition of a building that can be used by a non-profit to operate a homeless resource center. Council voted 5-3 to hold that request until additional steps were taken. Before introducing the request to hold the vote, Councilman Hartman delivered a new list of actions that are necessary before Council is willing to vote on an appropriation of funds to purchase a building that could be used to address our homelessness challenge. The hold was until September 1, 2026.

Here is the reporting of Councilman Hartman’s list as it appeared in the Journal Gazette.

“He asked that city officials, over the next several weeks, hold a public open forum, hire a real estate professional to assess possible locations, make the operating plan public, provide security and good neighbor agreements and give council the option to end the agreement after three years of operation?’

Below is my response to Councilman Hartman’s request.

1. Hold a public open forum

The sentiment of this request seems to be to allow for questions to be submitted and answered. There has been the equivalent of two public forums, open comments on 6/2/26 and a public hearing on 6/9/26. During the two traditional public engagement opportunities related to City ordinances and appropriations, two-thirds of participants expressed support for the proposed location and plan, and unanimous support was expressed for the plan.

However, The City will solicit additional questions via the City’s Engage website for two weeks. Following the allotted timeframe, the City will publish the answer to every question on Engage.

2. Hire a real estate professional to assess possible locations

The City of Fort Wayne has already examined 23 locations including three not located inside city limits. Nine of the 23 locations require building a new building. The cost to build a new building is likely to exceed available resources.

Some of these locations are ones the City identified, others were suggestions by people in the community, and finally some came from commercial real estate sources.

The following criteria were used as a beginning threshold before examining further.

• The building must be 20,000 to 50,000 square feet.

• Acquisition cost $2,000,000 as the maximum. (Leaving resources for renovation.)

Buildings that met the above criteria were examined further for these criteria.

• Is the building located in, or near, residential areas?

• Is there sufficient parking for safe parking and staff?

• Is there space for an outdoor courtyard?

• Are there sidewalks?

• Is it located near a school, church, or park (750 linear feet)?

• Distance from the subject property to downtown?

o Many of the services people need are located in the downtown area.

o The Rescue Mission was used as the end point of the walk.

o Google Maps was used to calculate the length of the walk.

o What is the likely traffic pattern of the walk?

• Does it require walking through a residential neighborhood?

• Is it within 1/4 mile of a bus stop?

• If the site is not within 1/4 mile of a facility that provides meals, a commercial kitchen will have to be added to the building or a delivery service for meals will have to be added to operating expenses.

In an email sent by Amanda Fall and again during my presentation to Council, I asked every district member of Council to identify three locations in their district for investigation. I also ask each at-large member to identify three locations.

Please submit your suggestions by June 23, 2026. We will review all suggestions according to the criteria we have used.

The City will hire a commercial real estate professional to review the existing locations, the suggestions from the council, and identify any additional locations. The Council (Hartman) has offered to pay for this service. We will apply the expense to your fund.

The real estate professional will be asked to provide input by the end of July.

3. Make the operating plan public

While the City will not be operating the homeless resource center, it will be the Landlord. Council has asked for the operating plan, this is a level of scrutiny that few, if any, non¬profits have been asked for in the past when partnering with the city, including the Rescue Mission.

Council has already been made aware of many of the components expected to be included in the operating plan.

The Anchor Resource Center is holding a retreat in the middle of the month to finalize its bylaws and mission/vision documents. During this meeting they will be discussing details of their standard operating procedures. As with any new business, the best operating plan for a startup needs to leave room for adjustments as the start-up begins operation.

We have asked the Board of The Anchor Resource Center to provide a copy of their operating plan to Council. They have agreed to make public a draft of its operating plan in late June after its retreat. This will be a draft, not a final plan.

4. Provide security and good neighbor agreements

While the City will not be operating the homeless resource center, it will be the Landlord. Council has asked for the security plan and good neighbor agreements. Once again, this is a level of scrutiny that few, if any, non-profits have been asked for in the past, including the Rescue Mission.

Council has already been made aware of many components of the security plan and the good neighbor agreements.

The current security plan was sent to Council on June 5, 2026. As Council knows, security plans evolve. They also should not be shared widely to ensure their effectiveness.

The Anchor Resource Center has agreed to share with Council additional drafts of their security plans and good neighbor agreements as revisions are made. (These will be drafts, not final documents.)

5. Give Council the option to end the agreement after three years of operation

The City will not be operating the homeless resource center. It will be the Landlord. The cost to operate the homeless resource center will be supported by donations, just as all non¬profits are supported. The Anchor Resource Center has raised more than $3 million for operations to date.

As members of Council are aware, The City has been involved in many rental agreements over the years. Those agreements almost always include exit clauses and durations. The agreement with Anchor Resource Center will operate no differently. The City will make that initial duration three years.

The Anchor Resource Center will be asked to give annual reports to the Administration and the Council.

The Council voted to hold its vote until September 1, 2026. The Administration has laid out a response to the latest request from the Council that we believe can be completed by the end of July or early August. Given the near unanimous support for a homeless resource center, I hope Council agrees they do not need to hold this matter until September 1, 2026. The Administration is asking Council to discuss and vote on the appropriation on August 11, 2026.

ORIGINAL POST:

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – On Wednesday, Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker announced philanthropic pledges totaling $2.26 million to support the new nonprofit Anchor Resource Center, which will provide 24/7 access to services for families and individuals facing homelessness.

“Since taking office, I have had hundreds of conversations with business and nonprofit leaders, property owners, law enforcement and residents about the need to address the challenge of homelessness in our community, particularly in downtown Fort Wayne,” said Mayor Tucker. “Our team has researched best practices, visited other cities, and had extensive conversations with service providers. Today, I’m grateful to announce that philanthropic leaders are expressing confidence in our plans for a low-barrier resource center and investing $2.26 million into making it a reality.”

The City released the following:

Philanthropic pledges to date include support from the Ardelle and Theresa Glaze Foundation, Doermer Family Foundation, Dyer Family Foundation, Foellinger Foundation, Journal Gazette Foundation, Mirro Family Foundation, Parkview Health Foundation, Patricia Mae Adsit Foundation, Surack Family Foundation, The James Foundation, and WindSwell. Pledges from other private sources are pending.

A proposal to approve funds to acquire and renovate the building at 333. E. Washington Blvd. to serve as the center will be introduced at Fort Wayne City Council on Tuesday, May 26. Council discussion and possible votes are expected in June.

During planning for the center, community leaders recognized that the growing and complex needs surrounding homelessness required a dedicated nonprofit organization to lead and coordinate this effort. An internal team then researched various names and settled on Anchor Resource Center to indicate stability and hope for those in need of housing and services as well as giving a nod to the community’s three rivers.

The newly formed nonprofit Anchor Resource Center will lease the building from the City of Fort Wayne and provide coordinated services to connect people experiencing homelessness with housing, job training and employment, and mental and physical healthcare. Current board members of the Anchor Resource Center include retired St. Joseph Community Health Foundation Executive Director Meg Distler (Board President), Wayne Township Trustee Austin Knox (Board Vice President), St. Joseph Missions Executive Director Erin Ness, Rescue Mission Executive Director Thomas McArthur, and City Homeless Services Manager Amanda Fall.

Several organizations have already committed to providing services at the center, including Parkview Health, Parkview Behavioral Health Institute, Lutheran Health Network, the Hope and Recovery Team (HART), Blue Jacket, and Avenues Recovery. Catholic Charities has conditionally committed to offer case management services.

A summary of estimated costs follows:

$6 million estimated for acquisition and renovation of building at 333 E. Washington Blvd. Sources of funding include Surack Family Foundation, supplemental LIT, ARPA interest revenue, Redevelopment Commission capital fund.
$1.2 million estimated for operations annually. Approximately two and a half years of operating revenue has already been identified and pledged. Sources of funds include Fort Wayne New Markets Revitalization Fund, Opioid Settlement funds and the philanthropic sources named above (excluding Surack Family Foundation).

More information about Anchor Resource Center can be found at www.AnchorResourceCenter.org.

Mayor Tucker responds to concerns over proposed homeless services center

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