THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702070020
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 31 lines
The Homeless Service Center (day facility) approved by the Virginia Beach City Council on Jan. 28 is more of a paradox than a panacea.
First of all, the city requested and received, over two years ago, a federal grant to build a permanent overnight shelter. The stated purpose of the grant was to provide the homeless with beds and a place to sleep during the winter months. The city seemed paralyzed until finally deciding on this daytime-only facility, with the obvious hope that it will remove vagrants from public buildings such as the 19th Street Library.
Since the facility is to be built in close proximity to a police station, the council must assume that the intended inhabitants will not object to hanging around the officers of the law and will thus become invisible, with their alcohol and drug problems, to the local and tourist citizenry. This remains to be seen.
Finally, since there is to be no overnight shelter, the cost of transporting the homeless to a church or synagogue (to sleep on the floor) each night must be continued indefinitely. Last year the city allocated over $100,000 to the Volunteers of America for this purpose. The expenditure of the funds from this federal grant for an overnight shelter, as intended by HUD, would have eliminated this annual cost. Hopefully, the city will consider asking for bids to operate this facility rather than just handing out money to an organization which does not seem to understand frugality.
WILLIAM D. KIMBALL
Virginia Beach, Jan. 31, 1997