Local NAACP president disagrees with city leaders on proposed homeless shelter

A concern for people in need, not a desire to link up with the Rev. Larry Rice, led the NAACP's Cape Girardeau chapter to join the call to convert the Broadway federal building into a homeless shelter, NAACP president Deborah Young said Monday.

Because Rice was offering a program to provide shelter in emergencies and on long-term basis -- and because she said she thinks the city has long neglected problems of blacks, the poor and the homeless -- Young said she decided to prove that a need exists. Cape Girardeau needs a place where the homeless -- whether they are blacks, teen mothers, homeless veterans or poor families -- can find shelter to rebuild their lives, she said.

Young circulated petitions, which she said not only showed support for the idea of a shelter but also revealed to her that there are numerous unnoticed homeless people in the city.

The opposition to a homeless shelter reminds her of past struggles, Young said. Many people have said they care about the poor and want to help, but then have said they don't want a shelter because "those people" increase crime or that "I don't want 'those people' in my backyard."

The statements echo the civil rights struggle, Young said.

Young's decision to invite Rice to a NAACP luncheon last week drew criticism from Mayor Jay Knudtson.

Rice applied May 4 to obtain the federal building under the McKinney-Vento Act, a measure passed in the 1980s to aid the homeless. His application was turned down May 29 and he has vowed to sue. Opponents of the proposal included politicians, community groups and religious organizations.

Asked to comment after the lunch, Knudtson said Young was making a mistake by aligning the organization with Rice and the New Life Evangelistic Center.

"He is not the one she should be working with," Knudtson said. "She should be working with local officials and holding us accountable. I understand feelings of frustration from the African-American community, but let there be no mistake, any association with Rev. Rice will deal those relations a severe blow."

Young said those words show raw politics is at work as city leaders try to present a united front of opposition to Rice.

"It was not my intent to reactivate the NAACP to settle a score, be your friend, a part of your good-ole-boy network or seek your approval," Young said in a news release.

Instead, she said she linked her organization to Rice because he was "willing to work with us in our efforts to get a building for our programs and it is the best deal on the table because it is the only deal that has been offered to the NAACP."

Rice has said he intends to sue the Department of Health and Human Services in an effort to reverse the decision to deny his application.

Knudtson, in an interview Monday, said he was commenting on Young's decision to associate with Rice, not trying to punish her for doing so. The revived NAACP already is showing a solid start and he wants Young's input on the problems of the poor and homeless, Knudtson said.

He added that he "will be calling a citywide meeting within the next few weeks to continue to address the needs of the less fortunate and I look forward to Mrs. Young having a seat at that meeting so we can continue to gather information that allows us to make a difference in our community."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

339 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.