Keeping a promise made last fall, Columbus officials and Love Chapel representatives have invited residents and business owners in the State Street area to meet to discuss how things are going in regards to individuals receiving services at Brighter Days emergency housing shelter.
The meeting will be from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday at the Cal Brand meeting room on the first floor of Columbus City Hall, 123 Washington St., according to a notice from the city.
Kelly Daugherty, Love Chapel director, will be a guest speaker at the gathering, saying the meeting is a followup to concerns expressed by State Street area residents and business owners last fall. Those concerns included perceptions that the emergency housing facility has brought homeless people to the residential area who have been loitering, stealing and using drugs, leaving drug paraphernalia behind on private property.
About 65 people attended a meeting last October to learn how the city intended to address their concerns about the shelter, which has operated out of a renovated former Columbus Township fire truck maintenance facility for two years.
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“We made the promise we would follow up with them to see how our response is working,” Daugherty said of Monday’s planned meeting.
In addition to talking about what the city and Love Chapel have been doing to alleviate residents’ concerns, Daugherty said while he has met many of the residents and business owners, he wants to continue to meet as many as he can and “listen to what they have to say.”
One key change city officials and Love Chapel implemented last fall was a rule that Brighter Days clients could not be on or near the shelter, including the entire city block around the facility, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays, Columbus Township Ben Jackson said at last fall’s meeting.
In addition to that, Jackson said that the Recovery Engagement Center, 1951 McKinley Ave., was to be open between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays, beginning Nov. 1, to cut down on the number of people who had no place to go.
The Columbus Police Department agreed to increase vehicle and bicycle patrols in the area of the State Street corridor, and police agreed to engage with those individuals who appeared to be loitering, asking if they can assist in any way.
While the new rule of moving Brighter Days clients out of the shelter area during daytime hours may have resulted in fewer individuals being near State Street homes and businesses, some of the issues they complained about have since migrated to areas of downtown Columbus.
Bartholomew County Public Library resource officer Pat Bryant said he was hired to assist after the library’s problems with homeless people who are believed to be mentally ill escalated last October. This was about the same time the new rules went into effect for Brighter Days.
“We were having people who were doing a little bit of vandalism,” Bryant said. “We have cut down on that. There were some homeless using drugs, but we’ve cut down on that quite a bit.”
Bryant said there were six to seven incidents requiring law enforcement intervention per week at the library last fall, but now there are around six to seven issues per month, after Bryant and other off-duty law enforcement officers began patrolling the facility.
“The most common issue we have right now is that we have a lot of (mentally ill) homeless (people),” Bryant said. “We’re just dealing with them and keeping them calm so other patrons don’t get too frightened. Some of them will be sleeping. Some will walk around talking and screaming and using profanity. This is a family atmosphere that we try to have over here.”
A woman was arrested by Columbus police on Monday at the library, accused of stealing a backpack from another individual. In addition to that, Columbus police were sent to the Recovery Engagement Center on Wednesday afternoon about an individual “throwing bricks and acting crazy.”
The city is also dealing with individuals who have refused to abide by Brighter Days rules and have been setting up campsites under bridges and in wooded areas of the city.
City Code Enforcement officer Fred Barnett has worked to close down these campsites, but city officials say as soon as they shut one down, the individuals migrate to a new location. About 32 tons of garbage has already been removed from more than 12 campsites around bridges and wooded areas, Barnett said in an earlier interview.
Brighter Days bans possession of alcohol, illegal drugs, paraphernalia or weapons of any kind among its overnight guests. The rules also prohibit behavior that includes abusive language or profanity, confrontations, stealing, criminal activity or violence. Any person staying at Brighter Days for more than one night must meet with a case worker to establish a goal to work toward permanent housing.
Daugherty said Brighter Days continues to stay nearly at capacity each night, with around 34 to 35 individuals being housed every night. The highest the shelter has recorded is 41 individuals and Daugherty says Brighter Days can house 44 people comfortably in the two dorms before having to use mats and having people sleeping in the dining area instead of the gender-separated bunk facilities.
“The numbers continue to climb,” he said.
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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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For information about how to donate or provide assistance to Brighter Days Housing, contact Love Chapel at 812-372-9421.
For general information, visit Love Chapel’s website at columbuslovechapel.com
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What: State Street Area residents meeting with Columbus officials and Love Chapel, open to all Columbus residents
When: 6 p.m. Monday
Where: Cal Brand Meeting Room, first floor, Columbus City Hall, 123 Washington St.
Guest speaker: Kelly Daugherty, Love Chapel director
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