West Jackson residents question why homeless facilities are always proposed in that area

Residents in West Jackson's Ward 3 and Ward 5 are voicing their opposition to a potential project aiming to build a 60-unit tiny home village for transitional housing for the homeless, located on Capers Avenue.

The village, called "Safe Place, Safe Space," will be the first of it's kind in Mississippi if approved. It was presented to members of the Jackson City Council during a Planning and Economic Development Committee meeting in January by Chloe Dotson, the director of Jackson's Planning and Development Department. The City issued a request for proposals for the project last year.

"The idea is that we create a village where people can go and feel safe instead of being on sidewalks and living in parks and not having health facilities and proper bathroom facilities and proper hygiene and no access to resources to better themselves," Dotson said. "We want to create this safe space, safe place in order for that to happen."

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The Jackson Resource Center, a nonprofit that services the homeless, will be in-charge of development of the tiny-home village after responding to the RFP. The JRC owns the 18-acre site on Capers Avenue. Putalamus White, CEO of the JRC who spoke to council members during the meeting, said adequate security measures will be put in place at the village, with daily house checks and around-the-clock staff.

But residents, such as Shelia Harper and others in West Jackson, say the transitional housing project will negatively affect their neighborhood, which already has issues with the unsheltered.

Harper, along with others speaking at the Poindexter Apartments Wednesday evening, questioned why West Jackson seems to be ground zero for the city's aid to the homeless. There are already a total of 19 facilities that service the homeless in the area, Harper said.

They also worry about how property values will be affected and public safety for the overall area, as well as the fact that the tiny-home village will not have to pay any property taxes due to being run by a nonprofit, which are exempt.

"We're not against the homeless. We're against the city bringing all this stuff and facilitating it to one area," Harper said.

If the city wants economic development and to create sustainable neighborhoods in West Jackson, bringing another homeless facility to the area is not the answer, Harper said.

"To bring another [homeless] facility would only add fuel to the fire as far as bringing our property value down, as well as our standard of living," said Arvester Smith, adding that he doesn't think the city cares about the concerns the residents of West Jackson have. Smith resides and owns two businesses in West Jackson.

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Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley, who represents West Jackson, shared similar concerns. He questioned if the city followed proper protocol because "there was no reaching out to citizens in that area to get their input."

"I am totally against this," Hartley said. "I feel as though we have adequate services and if you build this you're going to just invite further people from surrounding areas to come to Jackson to use this service...It's being placed in the poorest and blackest part of town and we're tired of folks dumping plans like this in West Jackson. We need to expand these types of services to other wards throughout the city."

Instead, Hartley thinks the city needs to come up with a master plan to address the issue of homelessness in Jackson. He hopes the city will pause the project until adequate public comment from residents is heard.

"We have homeless people exposing themselves," Harper said. "There's so many dynamics. Homeless have mental health issues, drug addiction and all of that adds to the depreciation of our neighborhood. Businesses aren't able to open either."

Harper also emphasized she worries for the children of West Jackson and their interaction with the homeless population, which was already a concern for parents due to other nearby homeless facilities, such as The Opportunity Center.

If approved, Harper said the tiny-home village is near multiple after-school and daycare programs, such as the Boys and Girls Club of Central Mississippi

Tawanna Chapman, another West Jackson resident who spoke in opposition, also questioned if the city has the type of infrastructure put in place to handle the project.

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"Fire departments, police protection, all of these things, this infrastructure, that you have to bring in these areas to be more watchful, because you're going to have different kinds of personalities like those with mental health issues and addictions," Chapman said. "We don't want to absorb all of this."

"When I go out to cut my yard, I have to hire an armed guard to stand over me while I'm working. It's just that bad over here," Smith added.

The Poindexter Park Homeowners Association, the Pecan Tree Park Homeowners Association and other associations in West Jackson all oppose the JRC project.

The Jackson City Council has to give final approval, though it's unclear if the project will be up for a vote at the council's next meeting on Feb. 13.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: West Jackson residents don't want another homeless shelter built there