Hope Center for Women and Children Des Moines Iowa Reviews

Sitting in her abode well-nigh the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Sue Woods couldn't figure out why Des Moines residents would object to a Promise Ministries homeless shelter coming to their neighborhood.

The house Forest shares with her hubby Jerry has backed up to a shelter for homeless women and children for almost fifteen years.

"I run across no problems," Sue Woods said. "They're wonderful people. I tin can't imagine what some other neighborhood would mutter about."

Hope Ministries plans to transfer and aggrandize its 50-person shelter for women and children near the fairgrounds to the old Douglas Elementary School, now a church, at 3800 E. Douglas Ave. in the Sheridan Gardens Neighborhood.

CEO Leon Negen said the proposed location would exist able to firm 100 people, filling a critical need. Last year, Hope received more i,000 calls from homeless women looking for a place to stay. Virtually requests were turned down because of lack of space, Negen said.

Neighbors of the former Douglas Uncomplicated site met in early January, with many opposing the relocation to their expanse. Speakers among the roughly 200 attendees worried that the shelter could bring crime and panhandlers, potentially lowering their home values or making information technology harder to sell the houses.

To Beverly Dakovich, who lives less than a mile from the proposed shelter, it'due south a matter of take a chance. She said Hope Ministries provides "fantastic" service, just what if this shelter is the one that attracts teenagers who loiter in the neighborhood or keeps people from being able to sell their homes?

"I don't want to have the chance," said the 76-year-erstwhile retiree from the Iowa Section of Transportation.

Neighbors who live near the current shelter, however, say they haven't seen the center attract whatever criminal offence and, similar properties across the urban center, the assessed values of their homes increased by thousands of dollars last year.

Previously:Promise Ministries wants to build homeless shelter on the east side, but neighbors aren't sold

"I didn't even know (it's a shelter)," said Connor McReynolds, a 26-twelvemonth-old casino worker who lives across Due east University Avenue from the shelter. "I oasis't seen people coming or going from it. I've been here a few months and never had whatever problems."

Last month, the Des Moines Planning and Zoning Committee delayed the public hearing on the rezoning after Hope Ministries said it wanted to provide information well-nigh the proposed shelter to nearby residents.

The commission volition again take upwards the evolution plan at its Thursday meeting, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Richard A. Clark Municipal Service Center.

If the rezoning and evolution programme is approved by the City Council, Hope will then turn its attending to purchasing the edifice — listed for sale at $2.6 million — and remodeling it.

Promise hasn't determined how it volition use its existing shelter after the relocation, but it plans to keep the property, said Kathy Coady, director of evolution and community relations for Hope Ministries.

Placidity neighbors

Harlan Donaldson, the head of the neighborhood association where Promise'due south shelter operates, said he doesn't field complaints from neighbors living most it.

"The only complaint I receive is that there'due south no sidewalk there, and the folks have to cross Academy to get to a coach stop," he said.

After the meeting at the quondam Douglas School early in January, Hope Ministries authored a long summary virtually its programming for women and children on its website, hoping to assuage some residents.

It described the two types of care information technology would provide women and children: a short thirty-day recovery program and a 2-year program that includes "Christ-centered counseling," continued education and chore and finance training.

To that point, Coady said the shelter for women and children isn't like those where homeless people stay temporarily without many support services.

"Nosotros provide comprehensive support services to our residents, and we do non shut or require any residents to leave our property at whatever time during their stay," she said in an electronic mail.

Hope added that in its sixteen years near the fairgrounds, law have linked no crimes to people at the shelter and the organization "very rarely" fields complaints from neighbors. Men aren't allowed in the facility, which is under video surveillance and watched by staff 24 hours each day.

Des Moines constabulary spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek said Midweek that the department had received 67 calls for service from 3333 Eastward. University Ave., from Jan. i, 2015, to January. 1, 2020. The vast majority of those calls, nevertheless, weren't related to criminal activity. One of the calls was linked to a fight, and four were for theft.

People living well-nigh the shelter said they've seen no signs of danger.

"They ain't a problem," said Rick Wentland, who's lived nearby for 16 years. "In fact, information technology'south a joy to run across them, because in that location's no kids in this neighborhood."

As for homes potentially losing value, Jerry Forest said his home's appraised value had tripled over the 35 years he and his married woman take lived there.

On boilerplate, the nine homes that share a property line with the shelter saw their assessed values increase by $18,633 from 2017 to 2019, co-ordinate to Polk Canton land records.

The assurances of nearby neighbors provided some comfort to Dakovich, but she withal worried about some being able to sell their homes. Assessed holding values are secondary to attracting potential homebuyers.

"If they see a homeless shelter, they walk abroad," she said.

Another Sheridan Gardens neighbor, 90-twelvemonth-former Cleon Babcock, said the electric current neighbors' positive reviews might not translate to a new operation that's twice every bit large.

"When you compare apples to apples, yous accept to brand certain you accept the (same) brand of apples," he said.

Drib-offs, fence-climbing

Some neighbors have noticed differences they attribute to the shelter'southward presence.

Linda Adamson, the head of the Grey'south Woods Neighborhood Clan, said neighbors have seen kids dropped off on Garfield Avenue, a couple of blocks across Eastward University Avenue. She attributes it to some men non being allowed near the shelter.

"The people who live in that location have told me repeatedly that it's not a skilful situation, so I don't know why they do information technology," Adamson said, adding that residents don't like the extra traffic.

Coady said fathers are typically allowed on Promise's campus to option upward and drop off their children at scheduled times. In one case last year, a father needed a state-assigned supervisor to visit his child, only those visits occurred in a public identify nearby.

Jerry Forest said the only complaint from a neighbor he recalled was when a resident 2 houses downwardly worried about children from the shelter climbing his concatenation-link fence, which borders the facility.

Coady said Promise Ministries is hopeful it can relocate its shelter to the former schoolhouse on Eastward Douglas Avenue and said the nonprofit hasn't taken a real measure of neighborhood support.

"I oasis't heard anybody that's for it," Babcock said.

Dakovich said some neighbors are afraid of what the shelter could bring, and several have asked why it has to exist in their neighborhood. She wondered why Promise Ministries couldn't move its shelter to abandoned holding at the Southridge or Merle Hay malls.

"We just don't want them in our residential areas anywhere in Des Moines," she said.

Austin Cannon covers the city of Des Moines for the Register. Attain him at awcannon@registermedia.com or 515-284-8398.

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Source: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/02/05/des-moines-hope-ministries-homeless-shelter-neighbors/4554162002/

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