THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 18, 1996 TAG: 9610180014
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 33 lines
Norfolk's Planning Commission disapproved the Salvation Army's proposal to rezone the Comfort Inn on Tidewater Drive to an institutional property so that it can provide shelter and services for the homeless. The Planning Commission's main argument was that they don't want to concentrate poverty into one area. This decision came despite the Salvation Army's insistence that the Comfort Inn location will assist neighborhood residents as well.
This leads me to believe that the heart of the Planning Commission's reasoning reflects some citizens' and city leaders' feelings that no one wants the homeless in his neighborhood or city. ```We don't want to make Norfolk the dumping ground of the East Coast'' is how one citizen worded the sentiment. I am afraid that even if the Salvation Army could place the shelter in another location, the sad, horrible reality remains that each neighborhood would say the same thing - not in my back yard.
Ironically, Virginia Beach has a similar situation. Money has been set aside to care for the homeless population, but there has been difficulty determining how and where to best implement services. If Virginia Beach and Norfolk city councils would allow advocates and providers to carry through with proposed services, neither city would be a dumping ground but rather a shining example of public/private partnership and inter-city cooperation while at the same time providing desperately needed care for the homeless.
PATRICE SCHWERMER
Director of Social Ministries
St. Pius X Catholic Church
Norfolk, Oct. 4, 1996 by CNB