City decides not to purchase A-Way Home shelter building
Three months after it appeared the City of Greencastle might ride to the rescue of the local homeless shelter, that possibility has been deemed impractical by city officials.
After pondering the purchase of the former A-Way Home shelter property at 309 E. Franklin St. during an executive session earlier this month, the Greencastle City Council reluctantly went public with the bad news Tuesday night.
Councilman T.J. Smith was the first to address the issue, noting that his inital inclination was to favor the idea of the city buying the building and allowing the not-for-profit Beyond Homeless group to operate a new shelter and eventual buy the structure back.
However, after more introspection and more information came to light at the recent executive session, Smith said he changed his thinking.
"I don't think it's a good investment for the city to purchase the property," he explained Tuesday night.
Council President Adam Cohen agreed.
"At this point, I don't think we can purchase the building," Cohen said. "We're not in a position right now to run a shelter."
He suggested city officials would be receptive to putting up money to fund programs to help curb the homeless situation locally, but other local entities need to pay their fair share as well.
"Other people in this county had better start talking about this," Cohen said of the local homeless situation he punctuated with the statistic that 84 children in Greencastle schools this year listed themselves as homeless (that includes those living in homes of family members other than their parents).
Cohen surmised that equal numbers are likely in the county's other three school corporations.
He addressed the Putnam County township trustees by name in characterizing the problem as countywide.
"Trustees," Cohen said, "you say you need our help on the Humane shelter. You can't leave us hanging here on this. Every kid who is homeless tonight in Greencastle is a resident of Putnam County."
While the shelter group reportedly has a $7,000 commitment from Greencastle Township for 2013, the homeless shelter has never been backed by county funds. That will need to change to make the effort sustainable, city officials noted.
Councilman Smith, dressed in his county deputy uniform Tuesday night, agreed that homelessness is more than just a Greencastle concern.
"It's a county problem," Smith stressed.
Phyllis Rokicki seemed the most emotional in addressing the Council decision.
"My heart tells me one thing," she said, "while my head tells me something else."
Rokicki indicated, however, that the situation is not a lost cause.
"It doesn't mean we're never going to have a shelter in Greencastle," she said. "But the last thing we want to do as a city is to open the shelter and have to close it again."
Bill Wieland of the Beyond Homeless Inc. board said the group's initial reaction was disappointment that the city purchase won't happen.
"The reservations that were expressed here are all reasonable," Wieland said from the podium at City Hall. "We walk away feeling in no way rebuffed. We're together as far as heart is concerned."
Housing Authority Director Nicole Christ-lieb also said she understands the city's position but vowed, "you haven't seen the last of me."
"We're still trying to sell the building or put apartments in it," she said, adding her appreciation for "what the city has done and considered."
At its February meeting, the City Council had unanimously adopted Resolution 2013-4, declaring the city's intent to purchase the former A-Way Home property for the creation of a new homeless shelter.
The intention was for the Beyond Homeless organization to eventually become owners of the building. During the February discussion, Mayor Sue Murray even stressed that it was never the desire of the city to run a shelter.
"There is a need in the City of Greencastle to provide temporary housing for individuals and families that are homeless and need shelter," the resolution stated.
"The city has determined," the resolution went on to note, "that the location of the former homeless shelter is appropriate and available
However, in the long run, both initial investment and long-term financial considerations, as well as sustainability issues, combined to deem that plan impractical for the city to tackle alone.
The structure at the northwest corner of Locust and Franklin streets formerly housed the A-Way Home shelter, which opened in July 1996 and closed Sept. 10, 2011 after serving more than 2,500 homeless people over 15 years.
The community has gone without such a shelter since the September 2011 closing.