March 24, 2014 |
This past winter, the Apostolic Pentecostal Church in Rockford, Illinois opened a shelter and warming center for the city's homeless. For understandable reasons -- record freezing temperatures and a need for more shelter -- their services were in high demand. Pastor Dave Frederick tells AlterNet that up to 50 people filled the church's pews some nights. They only shut their doors for three days in December, because his wife had a heart attack.
"Anyone who wanted to spend the night got blankets and pillows. Ladies would make dinner," he says.
Now, the city's homeless will have to find other arrangements. As Rockford's WIFR 23 News first reported, last week city officials told the Pastor that using the space as a shelter breaks zoning laws. His options include spending a lot of money on renovations or spending a lot of money -- $300,000 -- to buy a new building.
The only other shelter in town, Rockford Rescue Mission, is often full and doesn't allow alcohol and drugs, so people who drink or do drugs can't go there anyway.
"Everybody that left is back out on the street," says Thomas Stirling, who volunteers at the shelter. "It still drops below freezing at night. It's a really sad thing."
Pastor Frederick says that they'd found people under bridges, on park benches, and that's likely where they'll return. "What are they going to do? Go back to that bridge? One man is getting a tent and going into the woods."
Given that the woods, park benches and the undersides of bridges likely do not meet zoning requirements for shelter either, the city's official explanation has raised suspicions. The Pastor thinks they're using the zoning law as a pretext to disperse the homeless from the area.
READ MORE: http://www.alternet.org/church-ordered-stop-giving-homeless-people-warm-place-stay-freezing-cold-weather?paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark
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