Oread meeting focuses on homeless

Neighbors request help from nearby centers with transient litter, trespassing

Panhandling, trespassing, littering — problems associated with the homeless — still have to be dealt with, members of the Oread Neighborhood Assn. reiterated Wednesday night.

About 35 people gathered at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt., to discuss those concerns with representatives of three agencies that work with homeless people and are or will be located in the Oread district.

“All of us have compassion, and we hope we can make something happen,” said Candice Davis, president of the Oread association.

Listening to the neighborhood concerns were Tami Clark, director of the Community Drop-In Center, 214 W. 10th St.; Ellie Pedersen, director of the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen, 221 W. 10th St., and Loring Henderson and Eileen Schartz, who will manage the Lawrence Open Shelter when it opens in the future.

The open shelter will be in a building extension to the north of the Drop-In Center.

“We already know what the problems are. Tell us how you are going to solve them,” Oread resident Phil Hemphill said.

Some neighbors complained about the homeless gathering in areas along sidewalks, yards and alleys when any of the service agencies were not open. Another complaint concerned some transients who were getting into trash bins and scattering trash.

Possible solutions discussed included putting up a sign in the Drop-In Center stating the need for picking up trash or staying out of the bins, and LINK requiring those waiting outside for their noon meals to go inside to wait.

Another suggestion called for a fenced-in patio behind the Drop-In Center so the homeless could congregate out of sight when the center is not open.

Jim Schneider, a clinical psychologist, expressed concern about potentially violent transients who have mental illnesses. He said there should be a link through the services to rehabilitation and job-training programs.

Work still needs to be done to the building that will house the open shelter, such as installation of sprinklers, Henderson said. He said he didn’t know when the shelter might open.