To the editor:

The Lawrence City Commission will consider the relocation of Lawrence’s homeless shelter to the former Don’s Steak House on East 23rd Street sometime in early November. This particular site is on busy Kansas Highway 10 and is the central focal point of the major entry to the city of Lawrence, also called the “Smart Corridor.”

As I mentioned in a previous letter, I don’t think this is too smart.

Loring Henderson, director of the homeless shelter, states that the homeless population is growing. He’s absolutely right. With unemployment reaching 10 percent or more, who could disagree? Henderson is a good man. However, he might be somewhat misguided about trying to solve a major problem that currently exists downtown by moving it east and trying to hide it with fences, landscaping and lighting.

Shelter leaders have stated they settled on the 23rd Street location because it does not have any homes that directly abut the property — not now, anyway. There are houses coming, development is coming.

The city is currently on a mission to remove the homeless from downtown. Ain’t going to happen. They know where the “unsuspecting givers” are. Ban them to New Hampshire or Vermont streets. Ain’t gonna happen. Not enough cops. If the City Commission approves the relocation to East 23rd Street, the only reason is that it’s eight blocks away from the Douglas County Jail. That would make it easier for law enforcement to deal with previously identified problems at 10th and Kentucky. Law and order? Think about it.