News

Green Bay nixes winter shelter at church

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

	Related article this week: • Bridging the Gap by Bishop Zubik --     A scraped knee and beyond

It's the classic question: What do you do with the homeless people whom no one wants? Where do you house the alcoholics, the mentally ill, the chronic street people and those who work at the lowest paying jobs and cannot afford housing on their incomes?

It was a question that, for the past two winters, advocates of the homeless felt they were answering.

Since 2005, COTS (Churches Offering Temporary Shelter) had been offering nightly shelter to this hard-to-place population at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in downtown Green Bay. Mattresses were set out in the gym overnight during November through March. Supervision, bathrooms and food were provided overnight.

"COTS came out of the context of the Brown county Homeless and Housing Coalition meetings," explained Tony Pichler, a member of the COTS advisory committee. "People there had been studying the needs of chronic homeless for four years and realized there was a need for some type of temporary shelter for those who didn't qualify for other shelters. Then, in fall 2005, Fr. Guy Blair offered St. John as a site for that shelter. Lou and Karina O'Malley from (the now-closed) Crossroads Shelter offered money, and we had the two things lacking in the coalition plans: a place and money."

The other question they faced, Pichler said, was whom to accept at the shelter.

"We decided to have it be a risk reduction site, in which people who maybe have had a drink or two, but were not harmful to themselves or others could stay there. With other shelters, that's not an option."

This year, COTS had planned to expand staffing at the shelter, with the St. Vincent de Paul Society - which operates other shelters in the city - handling administrative matters and offering daytime contact. However, on Aug. 21, the Green Bay City Council unanimously voted to refuse to allow the shelter to operate this year.

City's main concerns

Mayor Jim Schmitt, in an interview with The Compass, said the city had three basic concerns:

• Location. "This shelter was in a neighborhood with a location near to the schools and other neighbors. We had some concerns about that. Last year was a trial period, so we said we'd look at it."

• Lack of programming for special needs. "They are taking in the most needy, people with serious issues: mental issues, alcohol problems. If they didn't have those issues, they could go into many other homeless shelters in city. ... And our concerns weren't only about while they were there (at COTS), but that they (COTS) would throw them out on the street at 8 a.m. (COTS actually closed at 9 a.m. on mornings of operation) and close down on April 1. That just didn't feel right."

• Need for a wider community involvement. "If you look at the city of Green Bay, every homeless shelter is in the city of Green Bay. I have talked about the greater Green Bay area community; Let's have other communities look at this." The mayor added that "there are eight to nine shelters in the city; zero outside of Green Bay. There are churches all around the community; let's get some regionalism."

Mary Marks, director of Social Service and Community Outreach for St. Vincent De Paul, has been on the COTS' advisory board since the beginning. She admits that there were issues to be dealt with - one of the largest was the daytime staffing, which her organization was ready to address.

"The way we had it staffed (in COTS first days)," she said, "there wasn't that accountability connection (with the surrounding neighborhood); that made it very difficult. But there was no malicious intent, it was the reality of their (COTS volunteers) availability. But it didn't offer a feeling of responsiveness" to the neighbors. Marks said they planned to correct that this winter.

Is regional approach viable?

She agreed with the mayor that a regional approach would be ideal, but questioned its viability.

"I understand the concern about outlying areas - in a perfect world that could be considered," she said. "However, most of the services these people need are in Green Bay. As of this winter, that's where the services are. Typically people who are homeless - chronically ill or addicted - they congregate in the downtown area, regardless where they sleep at night."

Bp. David Zubik supported COTS and was disappointed in the city's decision. In his Compass column this week, the bishop addressed the regionalization of such a shelter:

"Expecting another community to do it doesn't get the job done. People with mental illnesses or drug problems have been and will continue to be with us, and we need to address this particular aspect of homelessness before it becomes a bigger problem. I believe and I know that we are capable of offering a much more thoughtful, loving, concerted response to our sisters and brothers who deserve more than to be left in the winter's cold." (For the rest of the bishop's column, click here.)

Renovations to COTS made

While COTS had not first consulted the city in 2005, before it opened in St. John's gymnasium, it had subsequently tried to work with the city to meet all code regulations. That included updating the kitchen, renovating bathrooms and addressing accessibility issues, wheelchair ramps, motion detectors and fire alarms. However, they did not want to divide the gym - which the church uses for other functions - into smaller bedrooms to house four individuals. Therefore, as council member Tony Theisen, whose district includes St. John's, noted the city could not, legally, grant a permit to operate.

"The decision was not heavy handed," said Theisen. "The first winter, the city could have shut it down, but we let them operate. Last winter, already a year ago, I met with the COTS board in St. John's gym. They told me that the police supported it. I knew that (and) the first winter, I only heard of a few minor problems, such as litter. That first year, no residents had any problems. So I supported it. We went to the (city's) Plan Commission in October 2006, who supported it, if they brought it up to code. So the city approved it for one year."

However, Theisen said, by the second year, he was receiving complaints, especially from residents of an apartment across the street and from a business hoping to move to the area. Also, he said, the police told him that they were receiving more complaints and no longer supported the temporary shelter.

"I have a lot of admiration for people that volunteer to do something like this," Theisen said, "but I cannot approve something that is illegal. I have to weigh the problems solved against the problems created in the neighborhood. It's a serious issue on both sides. But I am more concerned for the people that are really in fear; they really are sincerely in fear of some of situations with this."

Teachers and staff at nearby Howe Elementary School supported COTS, so much so that the PTO sent letters of support to the city and one of the teachers attended the Plan Commission's meeting.

"Howe School sees it as a good thing to have," Pichler said, "not having these people around when the kids are going to school." He added that COTS had based its hours of operation so that shelter residents would be in the building when children were coming and going to school "and not wandering around. That's not the message people have been given in the news."

Not just the stereotypes

He also said the population served by COTS do not all fit the stereotypes.

"Statistics show that 41% of those served by COTS had AODA issues," Pichler said. "So obviously, 59% didn't have those issues. Also, 34% had mental health issues. Again, flip that around and the majority didn't have those issues. ... Additionally, one-third of them worked, but they didn't have money for housing or security deposits. And 73% of them are Brown County residents. So we are taking care of our own people."

City officials appear to believe that the current shelters in Green Bay offer enough resources for the needs of the local homeless. However, there have been instances, especially on the coldest days of winter, when there might not be enough room at places like NEW Community Shelter, which has 108 beds.

Terri Refsguard, executive director of NEW Community, said that winter is not the only time when there might be a shortage of beds. While she said they have never run out of room, they have come close. "For instance, today," she said on Aug. 28, "we have only one bed."

Not all meet requirements

However, it isn't just the beds; it's the rules at most shelters, such as requiring total abstinence and proper medications for mentally ill residents. And, as everyone involved agrees, there is a certain population that cannot meet those requirements. "For some people, if there's another option out there," Refsguard said, "they won't take it (shelter rules)."

That means some people will not be offered beds anywhere else.

"COTS is a Christlike alternative, rather than people being left in the cold or taking up shelter in a car or under shrubs or on a sidewalk," Bp. David Zubik wrote in a June 14 letter to city officials.

Mayor Schmitt said he realizes that these are concerns and he has set up a task force, which includes leaders from Brown County and area municipalities, to address homelessness. (A meeting was held Aug. 27.) However, he noted that Green Bay "already takes care of hundreds," while this issue addresses about 15-25.

"You look at the city of Green Bay, and this is a very compassionate area," he said. "We have all the homeless shelters are in the city of Green Bay. So many other things are done here; this is a regional problem and requires a regional solution."

New options sought

Refsguard serves on the mayor's committee, and she said they realize that this issue needs to be addressed. "We have to step back to the table, to see how we meet that gap," she said.

Since the mayor (echoing the City Council) has said he considers the COTS shelter "a closed issue," Marks and the COTS advisory committee are exploring other venues. Theisen noted that since the city does permit private groups to house up to three people without permits, various churches might be able to take small groups. Mayor Schmitt also suggested that religious groups in surrounding areas, including the Green Bay Diocese, might offer their buildings.

Marks says that other options - including "traveling sites" that utilize various sites on different nights - is being explored. She said that, despite press reports "28 churches were not asked to participate in COTS and turned it down. That's a complete fallacy. St. John's stepped forward early on, and we had not approached other churches."

However, she added, any of the other options currently offered all present "a logistics nightmare."

While she admits that there were concerns with COTS' operation, she believes they could have been worked out. But the basic problem remains.

"There are people who need just a basic human right of shelter. You shouldn't have to do a lot to earn that basic need. Yes, in a perfect world, I'd love to see people attached to recovery services. Our ultimate goal is to see people's lives improve - you do that through relationship building and COTS is a way to do that."