Photo: City of Des Moines
(Des Moines, IA) -- The City of Des Moines is partnering with St. Vincent de Paul on a pilot program that would provide biometric storage units for those experiencing homelessness in the Des Moines metro.
On Monday, the Des Moines City Council approved a six-month pilot program in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul. During the program, 12 biometric storage lockers will be available for homeless individuals where they can store identification documents, prescriptions, and other valuable items.
Speaking at Monday's City Council meeting, Chris Johanson, Neighborhood Services director for the City of Des Moines said there are several reasons why St. Vincent de Paul is a good place to try this pilot program: "One of the things that we first looked at is looking for where there's already that traffic, where there's a common place where the unsheltered population would go. The storage lockers did need to be stored inside, so outside was not an option."
During the six-month pilot program, the City will be assessing how many people use the lockers and whether or not the program would need to be expanded to other locations across the city, should the program be adopted permanently. The lockers will be available at the St. Vincent de Paul location at 1426 6th Avenue in Des Moines.
More information on the program is available on the City of Des Moines website.