Councilperson says homeless issue needs immediate action

Abe McGull is pressing the city to find solutions.

Business proprietors and homeowners raised concerns at the July 26 Springfield City Council meeting about activities of some members of the city’s homeless population, and Zone 2 Councilperson Abe McGull suggested that the city form a task force on the matter.

When asked this morning if plans to form a task force are underway, McGull said, “I continue to press the issue, but I keep being told there was a study that was done. Apparently, the execution of the study’s recommendations was not done.”

Representatives of businesses and homes in the Robberson Neighborhood told council about problems with public urination and defecation, drug use, trash and violence, all of which they attributed to the unsheltered population.

“It’s a frustration to homeowners,” McGull said. “They’re experiencing considerable problems.”

Robberson neighbors expressed concern about Community Partnership of the Ozarks Inc.’s O’Reilly Center for Hope, which opened in October 2020 at 1518 E. Dale St. The center offers various services and resources for impoverished and homeless people, including access to agencies such as Missouri Works Assistance, OACAC, the Springfield Police Department and the Veterans Administration, as well as personal care resources, like showers and mail.

McGull said moving the homeless population toward housing is the ultimate solution to the problem, and that simply giving them food or money is not helpful. As an example of a program that has potential, McGull said he likes the model of Eden Village, two tiny-home communities that serve chronically disabled people who were formerly homeless.

“It’s a great model, if we could scale that up,” he said.

McGull’s concern extends not only to homeowners, but to business proprietors as well. “They’re also being plagued by this,” he said, adding, “it’s not just that area – it’s all over the city.”

According to McGull, the city needs to be proactive about the situation.

“Burying our head in the sand is not going to solve the problem,” he said. “We have to start something, and we have to continue to work toward a solution.”

Seven years ago, former Springfield City Manager Greg Burris co-chaired a 30-plus member Impacting Poverty Commission formed by Community Partnership of the Ozarks. A detailed report from that study delved into areas of chronic nuisance properties, food access, health care, housing, jobs, public safety, wellness and other issues.

McGull thinks it’s time for the city to pay close attention to the issue once more.

“I’d like for us to come up with a strategy for how to address the homeless issue – how to get folks who are homeless into some sort of stable living condition,” he said. “Just feeding them and sending them back out into the street is not doing the job.”

McGull said the city would be doing business owners and homeowners a great service if they would pay more attention to the issue.

“It’s our duty and obligation,” he said.

One organization that serves the needs of the unsheltered population is The Connecting Grounds, a 4341 W. Chestnut Expressway church led by Lead Pastor Christie Love.

In a July 31 Facebook post, Love responded to the council meeting by advocating for the people who live on the streets of the Springfield community. A survey of 100 members of the unsheltered population, conducted by The Connecting Grounds, asked them what they would need to improve their own quality of life, and 50.5% responded that bathroom access was needed.

“This is not just a frustration for neighbors – it is a frustration for those on the streets as well,” Love posted.

“Councilman McGull mentioned starting a task force,” Love added. “I hope that creative ways to increase bathroom access for our homeless population are on the agenda … not just adding tickets and fines to those who do not have access to indoor plumbing. This is not a problem that should be criminalized … it is a problem that needs practical solutions for all involved – the neighbors, the business owners and the citizens of our community that live on our streets.”

Love also called on the city to include the perspective of homeless people on any task force that is formed.

“Please know that everyone is frustrated,” Love said. “Homeowners, business owners, service agencies, churches and, most of all, our neighbors in need who do not have constant access to indoor plumbing, a place to sleep, legal places to rest in the heat of the day.

“When one aspect of our community is suffering … we are all going to suffer in some capacity.”