City should do more to help people in need, advocates say

Lawrence is doing a lot – but not enough – to combat homelessness, advocates said during a town hall meeting Tuesday.

“There are gaps in the system that need to be addressed,” said Steve Ozark, who helped lead the Lawrence Coalition on Homeless Concerns’ third annual town hall meeting.

“We have people who complete whatever program they’re in and then, when they’re ready to take the next step, there’s nothing there and they end up back on the street,” Ozark said.

About 50 people attended the three-hour forum at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1245 N.H.

The speakers cited several challenges in meeting the needs of the homeless:

¢ Lawrence Community Shelter, 214 W. 10th St., doesn’t have a way to isolate someone ill with the flu.

Mary and Henry Allen, originally of Ada, Okla., feed their 1-year-old son, Truman, on Tuesday at the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen. Henry Allen said the family is looking for a place to live, and eating at LINK helps them save money. LINK offers free meals to many people who are homeless in the city.

¢ Both the community shelter and the Salvation Army facility, 946 N.H., are crowded.

¢ Women who’ve been abused often become homeless because the Women’s Transitional Care Services shelter doesn’t have enough room.

ECKAN director Jeanette Collier said she is working with three women who are living in their cars with their children.

“That’s one of the biggest gaps we have,” Collier said. “We have no place for (homeless) families to go.”

Several homeless men and women complained of being bullied at the shelters. Too many times, they said, their concerns are not taken seriously.

Lawrence Community Shelter director Loring Henderson assured the group that people caught bullying are punished.

Henderson welcomed news that the city’s Community Commission on Homelessness is getting ready to solicit bids for hiring four case managers who will help the homeless find housing and employment.

The shelter, ECKAN, Salvation Army and Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center have expressed interest in bidding on providing the services.

“This is going to be a terrific boon” for the community, Henderson said.

The commission meets at 7 p.m. Jan. 18 in the Human Resources Conference Room in City Hall.=