Friends of Homeless propose shelter behind Beaver Avenue church
NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ The Friends of the Homeless has proposed that a planned $3 million to $5 million shelter be built on a 3.5-acre property behind the Preach the Word Ministries at 327 Beaver Ave. NE.
Advocates took the proposal to New Philadelphia City Council on Monday. It is the fourth site the group has suggested. Three other sites met with opposition from city officials. They were at 2440 E. High Ave. in Goshen Township, next to the Ohio State Highway Patrol post; 250 S. Broadway, near Amberwood Manor nursing home; and on East High Avenue, across from Harry Clever Field.
More on the homeless shelter:Friends of the Homeless consider Goshen Township location for shelter
More on the homeless shelter:New Philadelphia officials oppose proposed shelter location
After a discussion between advocates and city officials Monday, council President Donald Kemp referred the matter to council's zoning and annexation committee, chaired by Councilwoman Cheryl Ramos. The committee is expected to consider the issue in January.
Amend the zoning code in the city?
Law Director Marvin Fete said that the only way to amend the zoning code to allow the project at the site would be to allow a homeless shelter on any land zoned for residential use in the city.
But attorney Josh O'Farrell, representing Friends of the Homeless, said council could vote to allow the homeless shelter to be built on the proposed site off Beaver Avenue without permitting such facilities in all residential areas.
O'Farrell is a 2000 graduate of New Philadelphia High School who formerly served in the Ohio House of Representatives. He now lives in the Uniontown area.
Much of the discussion centered on whether the new homeless shelter would be beneficial or detrimental to the city.
At council's request, Police Chief Michael Goodwin presented statistics about crime near the existing shelter at 211 E. High Ave. He said police had been called to the location 497 times since it was established in 2005. He said the calls ranged from the benign to the serious, and said the volume was comparable to that received from some other apartment complexes.
Police Capt. Paul Rossi said safety services are not concerned about the people who stay at the shelter, but those who get turned away.
The department conducts background checks on prospective shelter residents because the facility does not accept those convicted of sex offenses or violent crimes.
Rossi said the police talked to one man, recently released from prison, who said he was from San Diego, where that California city's homeless coalition had recommended he go to New Philadelphia.
Erin Tharp of Sherrodsville questioned whether the word of a convicted felon could be believed.
In response to questions from council and the law director, O'Farrell said the shelter will start telling Goodwin whose residence applications are rejected.
O'Farrell presented letters of support for the project, including one from New Philadelphia schools Superintendent Amy Wentworth.
Councilman Kelly Ricklic was the only council member to state a position on the homeless shelter proposal. He said he favors it because people who need help should receive it.
"Why is it so hard to help?" he asked.
Shelter volunteer Matt Ritzert quoted a Chilean priest, St. Alberto Hurtado, who took his truck through the streets, looking for the needy.
Hurtado's words include these: "Christ roams through our streets in the person of so many of the suffering poor, sick and dispossessed, and people thrown out of their miserable slums. Christ is without a home! Shouldn't we want to give him one, those of us who have the joy of a comfortable home, plenty of good food, the means to educate and assure the future of our children?"
Online petition over homeless in New Philadelphia
Friends of the Homeless has an online petition at change.org that had 965 signatures, as of Tuesday afternoon, in support of keeping the shelter in New Philadelphia.
The petition, posted by Schoenbrunn Moravian Church pastor the Rev. Ben Lippert, made these points, among others:
Friends of the Homeless has provided over 175,000 free bed nights and over 500,000 meals to community members since opening in 2005.
A total of 64 local churches, nonprofits and community organizations support Friends of the Homeless. Lippert told council Monday that support comes from churches that are conservative, moderate and liberal.
Among the residents at the shelter, 80% are from Tuscarawas County.
As of October 2022, 11 of the 36 residents at the shelter are children. Children are often residents of the shelter.
Friends of the Homeless launched a fundraising campaign earlier this year to replace the current shelter, located in a three-story 1930s-era building. The rooms are small, the hallways are narrow and the building is not accessible for people with disabilities. The structure is in a deteriorating condition.
Fundraising has begun for the project, and state Rep. Brett Hillyer, R-Uhrichsville, and state Sen. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark, secured $300,000 in this year's capital budget for the shelter.
Without a site by the end of the year, the organization could lose the $300,000 in state funding, according to Jeff Mathias, chairman of the capital campaign committee for the new shelter.
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: New Philadelphia City Council committee to consider shelter proposal
