The new addition to the Central Iowa Shelter and Services Complex on Mulberry Street opened this week, culminating a project that was more than a year in the making. The $4.9 million project added 24 studio apartments for people experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness. Funding for the expansion came from the National Housing Trust Fund ($2.7 million), the Federal Home Loan Bank ($1 million), the city of Des Moines ($400,000), Polk County ($400,000), the Polk County Housing Trust Fund ($250,000) and Jack Hatch and Sonja Roberts ($200,000). According to the Institute for Community Alliances’ 2020 annual report, there are nearly 12,000 Iowans experiencing homelessness, with more than 4,100 in Polk County alone. The 24 apartments are in addition to the 150 emergency beds CISS offers. It also brings to 44 the number of Section 8 voucher apartments, five veteran contract residential apartments, and 14 Safe Haven apartments offered by CISS.