McKinney staff on Oct. 21 introduced the Street Outreach Ambassador Resource program, called SOAR, a pilot initiative to expand street outreach and coordinate services for people experiencing homelessness in downtown McKinney.

Charlita Best, Community Services Administrator for Housing & Community Development, told the City Council that the program is a partnership between city departments, the McKinney Homeless Coalition and Metro Relief, a Dallas–Fort Worth nonprofit. Best said the program has begun a soft launch and will move to full implementation next month, with five ambassadors deployed primarily on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

"This is an opportunity where someone who is experiencing homelessness or if we see where someone needs help, they can call that number and they'll be able to have someone to have those services provided to them," Best said; the telephone number shown in the presentation was not fully legible in the meeting transcript and is therefore not specified in this report.

Program details provided to councilors include: five case managers ("ambassadors") assigned to McKinney, a designated lead coordinator (Holly Self), and Metro Relief as the lead outreach organization. Best said Metro Relief is a 501(c)(3) that conducts street outreach across the DFW area and that the five ambassadors are primarily dedicated to McKinney. She also said the program will coordinate with existing providers — including Samaritan Inn, Lifepath and regional partners such as Housing Forward — and will work with city departments on warming/cooling station coordination and public education for downtown businesses.

City funding for the launch consists of a $10,000 community support grant, Best said; she added Metro Relief will leverage other funding and regional partnerships to support the ambassadors. Best described SOAR as intended to reduce calls to police for noncriminal service needs by offering a hotline and an outreach team as an alternative resource.

Public commenters at the start of the meeting urged the council to adopt compassionate, coordinated responses to homelessness. In public comment, Alice Monroe, who said she works with Community Lifeline Center, called for “a really smart plan” and urged continued support for the city’s housing and community services department. Paul Ballesteros, founder of Emmanuel Labor and a member of the McKinney Homeless Coalition, said street outreach and follow-up are critical and expressed support for the SOAR approach.

Councilors asked follow-up questions about Metro Relief’s funding model, how ambassadors will coordinate with other providers, and anticipated program costs. Best said Metro Relief and coalition partners will provide supplemental case-management resources and that the city’s $10,000 is a start; she also said staff will return with more comprehensive cost information as the program is evaluated.

No formal council action was taken on SOAR at the Oct. 21 work session; staff said the program will continue on an operational track while other, longer-term initiatives are developed.