THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 16, 1997 TAG: 9701160248
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 117 lines
Nearly two years after the city won an $800,000 grant to provide shelter for the homeless, the City Council finally stands ready to make a decision on how to spend the money and who will administer the services.
Council members, who were presented two competing solutions in a private executive session this week, said Wednesday that they will formally decide the longstanding issue at their Jan. 28 meeting.
While both proposals would continue to rely upon the kindness and financial support of local churches and synagogues, they promise to address the problem in fundamentally different ways.
One plan relies on the more traditional approach of building a dormitory to house people left temporarily homeless, while the other improves upon the existing network of churches, volunteers and social workers that now cares for them.
The city's housing department apparently has endorsed the latter plan, which would use the Winter Shelter Task Force, comprised of about 50 local churches, synagogues and organizations, to continue providing overnight shelter during the winter.
About half of the $800,000 would be spent to purchase a small building, which would be renovated and would serve as a daytime services center where the homeless could shower and receive the counseling and continuing care that is the hallmark of the task force. Another portion of the grant would be used to buy three vehicles to transport the homeless.
``This program is innovative, and in Virginia Beach innovative programs and concepts will always win over more traditional models,'' said the Rev. Randy L. Orwig, task force chairman.
``Secondly, this proposal is the result of 2 1/2 years of hard work. All the providers, churches, community, city staff have been working together to find what is feasible, what would be a positive step forward for the homeless. All those things are covered in this proposal,'' he said.
Still, the City Council also must consider the proposal put forward by the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center, which wants to spend the $800,000 to buy land and build a new facility at the corner of 15th Street and Parks Avenue, near the Oceanfront.
Richard H. Powell, the center's executive director, said his proposal would convert the existing Judeo-Christian Outreach Center on Virginia Beach Boulevard near Birdneck Road into a place for the homeless who are now sleeping in churches as part of the Winter Shelter program.
The existing outreach center would then be moved to the new building that Powell proposes to construct. The two buildings would then house all of the homeless.
Powell contends that his operation would provide medical services, educational and vocational training, long-term and short-term counseling, and housing placement for those under its care.
The drawback, opponents say, is that Powell's idea does not have the backing of the majority of institutions that are now serving the homeless and that it spends all the money on a building. In addition, there is doubt about whether Powell's plan could meet zoning requirements established by the city and the Navy.
Under the Winter Shelter Task Force's plan, a far smaller facility would be acquired and renovated, and would need no zoning variances. At 3,000 square feet, it would offer a reception area, a multi-purpose activity room, a kitchen, office and meeting space, a laundry room, restrooms and showers. It would be more than double the size of an existing intake center run by Winter Shelter and the Volunteers of America at Virginia Beach Boulevard and Louisa Avenue.
The new facility, which would be called The Lighthouse Center, would be owned and maintained by the Virginia Beach Community Development Corporation, which would perform routine maintenance. It would be operated by the Volunteers of America. The center would be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily year-round and be staffed by one director, four case managers/counselors and one van driver.
In addition, it would provide access to telephones, support groups, mental health and substance abuse counseling, mentoring and limited health and dental services.
While a site for the center has been identified, city officials and task force members have declined to say where it is, citing sensitive negotiations with existing landowners.
Also central to this plan is the purchase of three vehicles to address a constant problem for the homeless: how to get from one place to another. In this case, how to get from the streets to a shelter.
Orwig, the task force chairman, said plans call for buying three vehicles - two 24-passenger buses and a 15-passenger van - to augment a 15-passenger van already in use.
The total cost for the new building and vehicles is projected at $550,000, Orwig said. Part of the balance of the grant money would underwrite the cost of running transitional houses where the winter shelter organization could send people who are close to a life of independence.
Another $50,000 would go to the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center to help it finish construction on the Blumenthal-Schor Education Building now under construction.
Andrew M. Friedman, director of the city's Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation, declined to confirm whether his staff had endorsed the Winter Shelter proposal while presenting it to the City Council this week. But outreach center director Powell said Friedman had acknowledged to him that the staff had been asked to make an endorsement and Friedman had chosen the Winter Shelter plan.
Councilman Linwood O. Branch III, who represents the Beach Borough and was instrumental in securing the grant, said he was hopeful the debate will be settled.
``I think council has made a decision that will please almost everyone,'' Branch said. ``I think it's the best possible solution we could come up with. A lot of hard decisions were made.''
The $800,000 has been held by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development since it was awarded to the city in 1994. There is no interest being earned on the special purpose grant.
Councilman William W. Harrison Jr. was equally hopeful about concluding this debate.
``One of the problems has been that several of the proposals have come from outside the city staff, and the city has largely been in a role of reacting to them,'' he said. ``Sometimes the proposals have either not been acceptable to surrounding communities, not viable to current land use policies, or included expenses on an on-going basis.
``I think this will be a real conclusion to this problem, which we discussed in executive session. I'm not at liberty to talk about it now, but we're on the brink of solving it.''
KEYWORDS: HOMELESS SHELTER VIRGINIA BEACH