Minister cites short-term treatment as reason for Cape homeless shelter; opposition says problem overstated

When the Rev. Larry Rice explains why Cape Girardeau needs an emergency homeless shelter and a long-term transitional shelter for families and veterans, he cites what he says is rough treatment of the homeless in Southeast Missouri.

The policy, Rice has said several times, boils down to this -- get out of town.

"The sheriff's departments and mayors in other towns are tired of seeing people housed in Cape Girardeau for two or three days and then sent down the road," Rice said in an interview May 8 when he was explaining why he applied to use the Broadway federal building as a shelter and free store.

In response, local opponents of Rice and his New Life Evangelistic Center proposal say Rice overstates the problem and offers outdated solutions. The city takes care of its own, and when strangers arrive with little means, the main effort is to meet their individual needs.

"Cape Girardeau is fully aware that individuals and families need assistance at times, and we are proud of the fact that our community has a very active network of organizations working to help shelter those in need, including the homeless," Mayor Jay Knudtson wrote in a letter to Tim Brown, acting director of the Division of Property Management in the Department of Health and Human Services. Brown's agency is responsible for reviewing Rice's application for the building at 339 Broadway and deciding if it meets the area's needs.

A decision on New Life's application could come as early as this week.

Roy Jones of the Community Caring Council, a former pastor, coordinates the "active network" Knudtson mentioned. He sees people in need every day and meets with other service organizations at least monthly. Jones said Rice's criticism hits home in some ways.

"The answer to that is, for people who are passing through, transients, there is some validity to that concept," he said. "For people who have family or friends here, there are networks. And it also depends on the needs of the person."

Cape Girardeau police respond to a person living outdoors by taking the person to the Salvation Army or offering a voucher good for a night in a hotel, chief Carl Kinnison said.

If the homeless person declines the help and is not violating any laws, police leave them alone, Kinnison said. "Most of the time when we run across the homeless, what we would normally define as homeless, someone out wandering the streets, most of the time that is what they want to be doing and where they want to be."

The Salvation Army regularly refers people to the only general shelter in Cape Girardeau County, the Revival Center at 914 Old Cape Road in Jackson, said Tina Rodgers, social services director. Regardless of where they are from, she said, she is interested in helping those in need find a place where they can rebuild their lives. If they want to leave and have a good reason such as a waiting job, family members who will lend a hand or if they are trying to get to a funeral, the Salvation Army tries to help them get there, she said.

"I am not going to send somebody somewhere where there is no place for them to go," Rodgers said.

Not enough

For Rice, a night in a hotel or a ride to the Revival Center isn't enough. The Revival Center is isolated from public transportation and jobs, he said. His shelter will be long term and up to 14 nights of emergency help.

Hungate said her shelter, which offers each person an individual room, takes anyone who isn't wanted by the police and has no history as a sex offender. She asks residents, once they have a job, to donate $100 a week for their room and board. But that's not rent, she said, and no one is kicked out because they can't pay.

"I've had them stay for as long as four years," Hungate said. "We take care of them like a Christian home."

But Hungate has rules -- able-bodied people must work, meals are taken communally and her residents must take part in the community's religious observations. Transportation is not an issue, she said, because residents with cars help those without. Rice's ministry, she said, "takes in more the Skid Row bum type. Ours are more the get-on-your-feet-help-one-another type."

Homeless count

According to the Missouri Housing Development Commission's winter 2008 count of the homeless, seven unsheltered homeless people were living in Cape Girardeau County, out of 92 total homeless individuals. Scott County had 79 total homeless, with 26 unsheltered. Perry County had 12 homeless, with one unsheltered, and Bollinger County had four homeless, all of whom lacked shelter.

Rice's application said he intends to serve every Southeast Missouri county from Jefferson and Franklin counties to the Arkansas border. In that area, there are 711 homeless, of which 299 are unsheltered, the application said.

"In our view, the proposed 22-county service area makes no sense whatsoever," interim Cape Girardeau city manager Ken Eftink wrote in a letter to Brown. "We continue, as we have in the past, to deal with the problems of housing and the homeless as a local issue."

Some opponents of the proposed shelter, such as U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, have said the federal building is too large for the problem in Cape Girardeau and that local agencies are working well together to serve the homeless population.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent Addresses:

339 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO

914 Old Cape Road, Jackson, MO

701 Good Hope St., Cape Girardeau, MO