
DATE: Wednesday, March 5, 1997              TAG: 9703050429

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   68 lines

FIX HOMELESSNESS, STUDY TELLS NORFOLK WHILE CITY COUNCIL TOOK NO ACTION ON TUESDAY, REACTION SEEMED FAVORABLE.

A local group hired by the City Council last fall to study homelessness in Norfolk has recommended that the city take the lead in finding solutions to the problem.

Concerns about the homeless regularly surface in the city, ranging from the operation of church soup kitchens in the Ghent neighborhood to an unsuccessful effort by the Salvation Army to transform a downtown motel into a training center.

In a report released Tuesday, the Planning Council, a private nonprofit group involved in human services issues, called on the city to help coordinate efforts to deal with the problem.

While there seems to be a ``real willingness'' on the city's part to support the churches and nonprofit groups that feed and shelter the homeless, ``there still are needs that are not met, in spite of their best efforts,'' said Mary Louis Campbell, executive director of the Planning Council.

The group's recommendations are based in part on surveys of community members, or ``stakeholders,'' involved in assisting the homeless in Norfolk.

City Council members did not take action on the report Tuesday, but reaction seemed favorable.

``It's obviously an important issue, not only for the homeless themselves, but for the impact it has on our businesses and neighborhoods,'' Mayor Paul D. Fraim said. ``I think the city is going to do everything it can to get a grasp on the situation.''

Several council members, however, said the $11,300 report did not provide what they wanted to know most - exactly who are Norfolk's homeless and how many of them are there.

``What we're grappling with is that we've never had a definition of the problem,'' said G. Conoly Phillips. ``I don't know if we've gotten our arms around the problem.''

Putting a number on the homeless is difficult, Campbell said. In interviews with more than 40 people involved in assisting the homeless, estimates of the number ranged from 125 to 3,000. Some of the homeless have mental illness or drug abuse problems, while others may find themselves on the street after being evicted from a rented apartment, the report said.

Currently, Norfolk has a total of 373 beds for the homeless in six shelters and an emergency sheltering system operated by religious and community groups.

From July 1994 to June 1995, three of the shelters that house families put up 1,568 people, but they had to turn away 2,067 for lack of space, the report said. ILLUSTRATION: THE RECOMMENDATIONS

Among other things, the group recommended that the city:

Adopt an official policy that outlines the city's response to

homelessness. It could include social as well as legal remedies,

such as addressing panhandling or vagrancy.

Create a city-staffed Homeless Advisory Committee to address

homeless issues, to build partnerships between the city and the

religious groups and nonprofit groups that feed and shelter the

homeless, and to help identify funding priorities.

Develop a coordinated plan for delivering services that

emphasizes moving the homeless toward self-sufficiency.

Continue its current financial support of local groups that cater

to homeless needs. This fiscal year the city will spend $118,400 on