THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 25, 1997 TAG: 9701250291
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 76 lines
An 11th-hour proposal offering a third option on how to spend a federal homeless grant will be presented to the City Council on Tuesday. If approved, it would mark the first time the city has provided a facility to care for the homeless.
Andrew M. Friedman, director of the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation, said Friday that his office is recommending that a day center for the homeless be built at the city's Beach Services Center, part of which is under construction.
The proposal essentially would mirror one made by the Winter Shelter Task Force and the Volunteers of America, but it would place the facility on city-owned property rather than at the task force's proposed site on Birdneck Road.
The center would be a 3,000-square-foot facility with a basic office, a reception area, as well as showers and lockers that are regarded as essential in caring for the homeless. It might not have facilities for laundry, however, and would not offer space for the homeless to sleep.
The building's cost has not been determined, Friedman said, but existing construction costs at the Beach Services Center are running $90 a square foot, meaning the building would cost at least $270,000.
The Beach Services Center is located at 17th Street and Cypress Avenue and is the site of the Virginia Beach Rescue Squad. A police and fire station is under construction, and other municipal offices will be relocated on the site.
It's not clear where the day center for the homeless would be located. The facility would build on a network of churches, synagogues and charitable groups that provide sleeping accommodations, counseling and food for the homeless.
``This is an excellent idea,'' Friedman said. ``It definitely indicates that the city is committed to helping this community. It will provide stability for the winter shelter program and, I think, it is a good location. But we're not creating another soup kitchen,'' Friedman said.
Two years ago, the city received an $800,000 federal grant to care for the homeless. The money has languished ever since, held up by struggles over how to spend it and by not-in-my-backyard concerns from some neighborhoods.
Friedman will propose Tuesday spending the rest of the grant, after the funding for the day center, on:
Allocating $50,000 to the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center to complete its Blumenthal-Schor Education Center.
Purchasing an unspecified number of buses to transport the homeless from the day center to participating churches.
Providing money to nonprofit organizations to allow them to buy transitional housing.
If Friedman's recommendation is adopted by the City Council, and his stamp of approval is considered crucial, it would be only the first step in getting a day center. The second phase would come in selecting an organization to run it. There are two groups that are vying to use the money - the task force, and the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center, which runs the city's largest and most successful soup kitchen.
Both groups have offered proposals to make use of the grant in fundamentally different ways.
The Winter Shelter Task Force proposes to spend the money on renovating a small building on Birdneck Road, purchasing buses to transport the homeless, and keeping some money in reserve for operational expenses while also donating a portion to the outreach center's education center.
The Judeo-Christian Outreach Center proposes using the federal grant to buy two parcels of land at 15th Street and Parks Avenue and build a shelter for the homeless, adding a number of beds that all in the homeless community agree are desperately needed. The center would then convert the existing facility on Virginia Beach Boulevard into an overnight shelter.
``VOA is the leading candidate for this because they run the winter shelter program and they have a federal contract to provide day support services,'' Friedman said. ``Once approval is obtained, we're going to make sure we comply with all procurement requirements and do what is necessary in selecting a contract.'' ILLUSTRATION: VP Map
KEYWORDS: INDIGENT HOMELESS GRANT