Efforts continue to find space for growing homeless sector

When last month's ice storm blasted Athens area power lines, the city coordinated with the Red Cross to house 46 people in the Athens Community Center.

But what is being done for those who don't have a home to return to?

"When you're deprived of the smallest, most basic comforts, it changes what you do," said 2007 Athens City Council candidate Troy Gregorino at last Monday's council meeting. "It has a way of changing how you feel. It changes how you think and move. It practically changes who you are."

The wheels have been put in motion to help Athens' homeless. At the Dec. 9 City Council meeting, a group of concerned citizens and local pastors presented a letter asking the city to help out with expanding shelter capacity within city limits.

"As the foreclosure crisis mounts, more individuals and families are losing their homes," the letter states. "As our national economy plunges into recession, even more are becoming homeless. This year, Good Works has turned away individuals and families with small children in record numbers."

In September 2007, the local poverty outreach organization Good Works, Inc. attempted to purchase the property next to their homeless shelter, the Timothy House, at 91 Central Ave. They wanted to expand the shelter in order to separate single residents from families. The expansion also would have allowed the shelter to take in more residents. But the Athens Board of Zoning Appeals rejected the plan.

"The primary concern for us is families, homeless families," said Keith Wasserman, founder and executive director of Good Works. "We would like to be able to separate the families with their children from the singles and give them more privacy and space.

"That was the primary motivation behind expanding to the house next door," he explained. "It's not just space. It has a lot to do with the dignity and the psychological, emotional safety that we want to address with families."

About 15 years ago, the Central Avenue neighborhood petitioned to rezone the area from an R-2 to an R-1, restricting houses to a maximum of three non-family residents, Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl said.

"I think the reason the zoning board rejected it is because some of the community members didn't like it," Wiehl said of the denial of a variance for Good Works to expand.

"Who wants to live next to a large homeless shelter? Some safety issues were also a concern. Once you get a house of a certain size, you have to worry about sprinkler and fire containment as well."

Other concerns from the neighborhood included the shelter's close proximity to West Elementary School and the struggle to limit renters, according to an Athens NEWS article.

Wiehl came up with three alternatives for Good Works. One solution would be to plan the project as a planned unit development (PUD), which would give the city some flexibility, though it would require approval from both the Athens Planning Commission and City Council. A PUD requires a property of at least two acres, but Wiehl said he can recall at least one instance where that wasn't the case.

"Their take on it is that we need to change the laws," Wiehl said. "But actually there's ways of addressing what Good Works wants to do without changing the law."

Good Works could also look for a property in an R-3 zone, but because those areas attract high-profit student housing, such a purchase would be expensive.

Wasserman declined to comment on either of Wiehl's suggestions because he has not researched either option.

The group of pastors and Good Works believe it's essential to either add to the Timothy House or open a new location within city limits because this would give shelter residents access to essential services. Residents need to be within walking distance of work and schooling in order to remain active in the community, said the Rev. R. William Carroll of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, one of the letter signees.

After the letter was presented to City Council, Wiehl said he took an interest in the cause.

"From what I was seeing, the pastors who sent that letter really weren't coordinating with (Athens Jobs and Family Services and Athens Metropolitan Housing Association)," Wiehl said. "It's interesting because you talk about separation of church and state, and there seemed to be a little bit of that."

Last month, Wiehl attended Good Works' Walk for the Homeless. He said he has met twice with the group of local pastors and has visited with the Metropolitan Housing Authority. Good Works was not represented at either meeting.

"(Mayor Wiehl) has been very helpful," Carroll said. "He has asked us for information from our churches as to what we've been doing for the homeless. He really has approached this by looking at the big picture."

BEFORE LOOKING AT THE BIG picture, there needs to be a better image. Enter the Athens Housing Coalition, a collection of local agencies concerned with finding homes for low-income families and citizens as well as the area's homeless.

AHC compiled a head count of how many homeless are in the area. The count was part of the national Point in Time program. The idea is to do a head count of homeless in an area on a certain date. This year, the date was Jan. 27.

"The whole idea that it's done in a cold winter Saturday," said Terri Gillespie, president of the AHC. "But it is more of an urban model. It's hard to unearth because we don't have people just hanging out on the streets."
Because rural homeless tend to be more spread out, with people living in cars or in unsafe residences with friends or family, it can be difficult to count. Several members of the AHC have been conducting the survey, which concluded on Friday. The group also asked other local agencies to help with the tally.

Gillespie said there was not a set way to approach the survey. The AHA put a sign up in its office window and took phone calls. For everyone who came in or called, the AHA asked the person if he or she would take the survey. Results for the Athens Point-in-Time survey will be released sometime in March, Gillespie said.
"Our goal is not just to identify homeless," she said. "We're trying to identify housing needs. We need to know what kinds of resources to go after in terms of federal funding."

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes several increases to funding of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1986, a piece of legislation that lays out federal funding for shelter programs. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the ARRA either today or tomorrow.

But it's not all about funding. One of Good Works' mottos is that homelessness is not just their issue; it's a community issue that needs a community solution. As the search for answers expands to the city, Wasserman's goal is closer to being attained.

"We're grateful that the city and the community is taking an active roll in seeking to address this problem," Wasserman said. "We are grateful and appreciative particularly of the time these people are putting in."