Cape homeless shelter organizers seeking community support

An emergency homeless shelter for Cape Girardeau will be open within a month in a former pool hall if the community steps up with donations of material and labor to build the dorms, kitchen and showers needed to support it, organizers said Wednesday.

The Shelter of Hope, a newly created charitable organization, will have room for up to eight people at 320 S. Sprigg St., Chaplain Terry Wildman said during a news conference where he was joined by political, community and religious leaders. The building, taken by Alliance Bank in a foreclosure about two months ago, will be used rent-free for 12 months.

"We still need a lot of help to get this going," Wildman said.

Wildman, Brother David McNeely and the Rev. Bob Towner of Christ Episcopal Church are leading the group organizing the shelter, which is across Sprigg Street from the Salvation Army at 701 Good Hope St.

The first report about the shelter printed in the Southeast Missourian already resulted in a major commitment, Towner said at the news conference. An accountant, who Towner did not name, has pledged to supply 12 beds including sheets and pillows, for use in the shelter.

Mayor Jay Knudtson speaks during a news conference at the Shelter of Hope, 320 S. Sprigg Street. (Fred Lynch)

"What we are learning now is that Cape Girardeau is learning how to play together, and that doesn't come naturally," Towner said.

The shelter project was spurred by local opposition to an attempt by the Rev. Larry Rice of the New Life Evangelistic Center to obtain the old federal building at 339 Broadway for use as an emergency shelter and transitional housing center. But Mayor Jay Knudtson, who pledged that the city would support the shelter, said it was Wildman's commitment to the homeless, not a desire to thwart Rice, that turned the idea into reality.

Knudtson said Wildman, who operated the New Life homeless outreach center and thrift store at 707 Broadway for two months, showed him that more needed to be done to address homelessness in Cape Girardeau.

"At any given time there are people who are hurting and we aren't taking care of them," he said. "We need to go to another level to address the issue."

In a telephone interview, Rice said the new shelter was a welcome addition to the fight against homelessness. New Life's application for the federal building, initially rejected by the Department of Health and Human Services, is being reconsidered as a result of a federal judge's ruling. Rice said he doesn't know when to expect a new decision.

A former pool hall will become the Shelter of Hope at 320 S. Sprigg Street in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

The community support for the shelter, Rice said, is a major change from opposition he encountered.

"The mayor and whoever has gotten behind him are no longer in denial," he said. "Up to now it has been total denial."

Homelessness has been identified as an issue Cape Girardeau needs to address for at least a decade, said Nancy Jernigan, director of the United Way of Southeast Missouri. While a needs assessment in 2001 didn't specifically recommend a shelter, it is a solution for emergency needs, she said. "The biggest barrier has been waiting for the right person with the right heart to come along."

Kevin Greaser, community bank president for Alliance Bank, said donating the building made sense. The location is right, he said, and the bank wants to help make the community better. Greaser, a board member for the Salvation Army, said the bank will participate in helping make sure Shelter of Hope can eventually own the building.

Wildman said he resigned from the New Life outreach center because Rice is more interested in promoting himself and obtaining the federal building than helping the homeless.

Rice denied that allegation, saying he wants only to make sure that vulnerable people are served. "We are just as dedicated to helping the homeless as we always have been," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Want to help?

The Shelter of Hope, a newly incorporated charitable organization that will open an emergency homeless shelter at 320 S. Sprigg St., is asking for community donations of labor and materials for renovation and Gifts of Hope pledges of $25 a month for operations. To help, contact the following:

• Chaplain Terry Wildman at 339-7882.
• Brother David McNeely at 579-8121.
• The Rev. Bob Towner at 335-2997.
• Alliance Bank, 217 N. Kingshighway, which is preparing to accept donations at teller windows.

Pertinent address:

320 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO

701 Good Hope St., Cape Girardeau, MO

339 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO

707 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO