City urged to open low-barrier shelter

Audience members were moved to tears as they listened to personal stories relating to homelessness at the city council meeting last night.

The Wednesday night meeting started with 20 minutes of public comment from 15 different speakers, 14 with a vested interest in providing summer shelter to tenants of Interfaith Winter Shelter, who will be without shelter come April 1.

“There are worse things that Bloomington could be known for than compassion,” said Stephanie Waller, IU student and an Interfaith volunteer.

Several speakers were students at the IU School of Social Work who also volunteered at the Interfaith shelter.

IU student and Interfaith volunteer Gabriela Morales was brought to tears at the podium. She said she didn’t want to go to a college in a town that treated people this way.

Others in the audience were also moved by the poems, testimonials and pleas of speakers.

Kathy Byers, director at the IU School of Social Work, stressed collective and cooperative action on the parts of city government, social services and community activists.

“You cannot get your life together, you cannot address your addiction, you cannot get a job without a place to sleep at night,” she said.

Bloomington resident Glenn Carter emphasized the city’s lack of concern for people without money, and its close relationship to IU. While opponents of the initiative to create a summer shelter criticize people experiencing homelessness for substance abuse, Carter said college students have similar habits and the city condones it because of their class in society.

The need for a low-barrier shelter in Bloomington was a main point in the commentary. Low-barrier shelters, unlike local existing high-barrier shelters such as Martha’s House, have only one requirement for entry — that tenants exhibit respectful behavior.

High-barrier shelters only accept tenants who are sober, Monroe county citizens with no history of sexual abuse.

Samantha Harrell, who directs IWS on Sunday nights, asked the council members to reconsider the city’s hesitant position on low barrier shelters. Mayor Mark Kruzan has been open about his opposition to the opening of a summer shelter, because he said he thinks many homeless people do not hail from Monroe County.

Harrell stressed that the low barrier model was effective.

“I’m in awe at the work that the community is doing to respond to this crisis,” Harrell said. “I’m asking one of you to step up.”