The complaints by residents and business owners about the Brighter Days emergency housing shelter have quieted over a year’s time.
Last summer, about 200 residents and business owners signed a petition asking that Brighter Days, located at 421 Mapleton St., be moved out from their neighborhood.
During an October public meeting attended by more than 60 people, a number of individuals expressed their perception that Brighter Days had brought undesirable individuals who were loitering, stealing, using drugs and leaving dangerous drug paraphernalia behind on private property.
But eight months later, when 20 people showed up for a follow-up meeting Monday at Columbus City Hall, nobody was complaining.
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City councilman Dascal Bunch opened the meeting by saying he no longer sees the same problems in neighborhoods south of State Street, including the Pence Street Park.
“Based on what I’ve seen, most of the people who were causing troubles last year weren’t even those who were staying at Brighter Days,” Bunch said.
Beth Dilley, who owns commercial property along State Street, said she also is under the impression there has been a improvement since last summer.
However, she said frequent rain may be keeping those who engage in illicit activities inside. She also said many who reside in southeast Columbus may have been unaware of Monday night’s meeting if they don’t follow news media.
Columbus Police Chief Jon Rohde, who told the crowd in October that statistics didn’t support claims the area had become more dangerous, said Monday the neighborhood has not experienced any increase in crime since last fall.
Rohde did express concern with what he called a migration of some homeless individuals from southeast Columbus to the Bartholomew County Library area.
While law enforcement and library staff plan to meet Thursday to discuss the matter, the police chief indicated the matter would be handled compassionately.
“Each person is homeless due to a different set of circumstances, and we want to help them out of their bad situation in the best way we can,” Rohde said.
But at the same time, the police chief conceded there are individuals who choose to be homeless because they cannot abide by rules, Rohde said.
At Brighter Days, the rules forbid tenants from bringing alcohol, drugs and firearms into the facility. Regulations also prohibit behavior that might include abusive language or profanity, confrontations, stealing, criminal activity or violence in any form.
Although Brighter Days was anticipating the number of homeless served to drop this summer, records show they are still housing an average of 35 to 36 individuals — about the same as last winter, said Love Chapel Ministries executive director Kelly Daugherty.
Since the average length of stay at Brighter Days this year is only 23 days, the numbers indicate a lot of turnover, Daugherty said.
With the arrival of warmer weather, several homeless have chosen to move into wooded areas that include Noblitt Park, near the eastside Walmart, north of the Everroad Park East subdivision and in remote areas off Jonesville Road, city code enforcement officer Fred Barnett said.
Local authorities have now broken up 32 homeless camps whose occupants had left behind about 52 tons of trash, Barnett said.
During his address, Daugherty shared facts that he has learned as a member of Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop’s Task Force on Affordable Housing.
One that seemed to surprise a few people Monday was that 60% to 75% of the homeless staying at Brighter Days receive income regularly through Social Security or disability payments. In fact, many of them have a job they go to on a daily basis, Daughtery said.
But a significant problem is that it often takes an individual or family between 12 to 18 months to get into one of the city’s affordable housing units, Daugherty said.
While waiting, some individuals chose to live in motel rooms that can cost up to $1,200 a month, Daugherty said. That type of expense leaves people with no means of saving money for deposits and the first month’s rent, he said.
Several people are trying to get back on their feet by obtaining a Section 8 housing voucher, but Columbus Township trustee Ben Jackson said it has become difficult to find local landlords willing to accept those vouchers.
More affordable housing is being constructed that includes a 60-unit complex near State St. and Gladstone Avenue, and a 114-unit affordable assisted-living apartments that will be built on the former site of the Bartholomew County Annex building at State and Mapleton streets. There are also vacant units remaining in an affordable housing complex near 10th and Maple, a city official said.
But Daugherty said research has concluded the city needs 800 additional affordable housing units to keep up with the demand.
He described the affordable housing units either built or being planned as “a drop in the bucket” for what the community needs.
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Address: 421 S. Mapleton St., Columbus
Purpose: An emergency housing facility for individuals 18 and older who are homeless in Bartholomew County.
Capacity: 36 individuals and three to four staff members housed in staff quarters and two bunk areas, separated by gender.
Check-in: 6 to 9 p.m. each night. Those who stay at Brighter Days will leave the facility between 9 and 9:30 a.m. daily. Guests will be served a continental breakfast in the morning but will be referred to meal sites in Columbus.
Amenities: The shelter has installed bike racks, and several bicycles have been donated by Healthy Communities and the Bike Co-op for guests to use.
Information: 812-344-4512.
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Those who still have concerns regarding Brighter Days and conditions in southeast Columbus can call city councilman Dascal Bunch, who represents the area, at 812-343-0867.
To report a code violation, contact Columbus code enforcement officer Fred Barnett at 812-343-8864.
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