Shelter Board not listening to concerns

As Dispatch Reporter Rita Price pointed out in her Sunday article on homelessness, “High demand leaves shelters full,” the Community Shelter Board has failed again this year to provide shelter for homeless men who remain outside in rain, snow and freezing temperatures.

In a recent letter to the board, the Coalition for the Homeless, of which I am a supporter, cited numerous problems, all of which have come up in past years. These include failure to provide adequate beds, time limits on shelter stays, failure to provide transportation to shelters and failure to work with the coalition, which, in its work with direct providers, witnesses the suffering of their clients and has direct experience in solving these problems.

For several years, I have attended coalition meetings and heard of the unresolved problems resulting from the Community Shelter Board’s failure to address concerns raised by the coalition.

For example, why, even when beds are unavailable during “overflow,” is no mechanism is in place to transport individuals without funds to the motel on the Far East Side?

Why are funds to providers being cut when the need is expanding, not shrinking? Why, when the numbers have been increasing for years, would the shelter board not have anticipated increased numbers this winter?

I was advised by the coalition to give the board’s new plan a chance, in part because the board’s efforts included a “vow to do away with waiting lists,” with “no one seeking refuge from the streets turned away” (“New shelter to provide desperately needed help,” Dispatch article, Oct. 10, 2013).

Meanwhile, as winter cold, freezing rain and snow envelop them, the homeless continue suffering and risk serious illness and death. As a first step, it is imperative that the shelter board start, as the coalition has requested, by scheduling a meeting that includes the board and a small group of coalition board and general members.

Second, I look forward to hearing from the coalition that the board is working with it on solving each of the problems it has brought to the board’s attention

Last, funds must be found to continue services these agencies are providing. SUSAN CARTER

Columbus