Tuesday, Jul. 14, 2009

Salvation Army to shut down its shelter over Belleville city ordinance

BELLEVILLE -- After 30 years, the Salvation Army plans to close its homeless shelter at 20 Glory Place in Belleville, saying it no longer can guarantee the confidentiality of those who stay there.

"We've come to a point where we've made a difficult, difficult decision to close the shelter because of a Belleville city ordinance," said Salvation Army Maj. E. Randall Polsley, general secretary of the organization's Midland Division. "It's an important part of what we do and it's a real loss. We're disappointed by the decision we've had to make."

The city ordinance -- Ordinance No. 7214 -- which was passed unanimously by the City Council on Jan. 5, addresses many health and safety issues at the shelter, such as fire inspections, health department inspections and licensing.

But a section of the ordinance that requires the Salvation Army to turn over to the city or the police department the names of all people residing at the shelter at any given time is the portion the Salvation Army says it has an issue with.

According to Polsley, the ordinance violates the Salvation Army's confidentiality rules pertaining to the identities of its clients.

"We have funding from state and federal sources, and we feel those hold us to a certain level of confidentiality for our clients," Polsley said. "Now, we have a city ordinance that requires we not follow those confidentiality requirements and we are stuck in the middle. ... We tried to work with the local city administration, and we feel it's the best decision for the confidentiality of our clients."

Mayor Mark Eckert said the city passed the ordinance to address an ongoing issue with the shelter -- allowing parolees, criminals with outstanding warrants and sex offenders to stay at the shelter -- and issues with the shelter being inconsistent about providing information to the city. In 2005, when discussions about the ordinance began, the Salvation Army improved its background checks on residents and has more consistently turned away parolees and sex offenders, Eckert said.

"I'm sorry to see them close their doors, but this is about one thing and one thing only: Public safety," Eckert said. "It's about the safety of other residents, the safety of the shelter's staff and the safety of the neighborhood. I think what we are asking for is fair."

Eckert said while the Salvation Army provides some information about who's staying there, it needs to know more about the residents, especially for criminal investigations.

Eckert said the city has not enforced the ordinance since it was passed in January and has been trying to work with the shelter to amend the capacity limitation. The shelter can house up to 28 people, but the ordinance capped the number at 20.

William Becker, a spokesman for the Salvation Army, said the situation caused by the Belleville ordinance is unique to the organization.

"No other city or county in the region requires us to report our clients to police," Becker stated. "St. Louis County, in fact, specifically prohibits us from sharing this kind of information with the county police."

Within the past year there were home invasions in the neighborhoods near the shelter, Belleville Police Chief William Clay said. A police investigation led to some possible leads at the shelter, and police were pursuing those leads but were not permitted to view the shelter's roster. That refusal led to the city stepping up the drafting and passage of the ordinance, Eckert said.

The shelter roster, like a hotel roster, logs when an individual is present at the shelter. It is sometimes used in police investigations to eliminate or include suspects by determining where they were during a specific time frame, Clay said.

"We are just asking for a little responsibility and a little accountability on their part," Clay said. "The ordinance took away their ability to tell us no."

According to Clay, there is no right to privacy associated with such rosters.

"Yes, some of our residents have fallen on hard times," Polsley said. "But I don't think that just because someone is having a difficult time means they should be looked at differently by the city or the police."

The shelter stopped taking referrals a couple of weeks ago and has been working to find permanent or transitional housing for the remaining residents and hopes to have everyone out of the shelter by the end of July.

"No one will end up on the street," Polsley said. "We won't automatically close the doors at the end of the month and throw people out, but our goal is to have everyone out by the end of the month."

The Salvation Army headquarters at 4102 W. Main St. will continue to offer all its other programs, such as energy assistance, rental payment assistance, medication assistance, food assistance and bus passes. Since October, the local organization has provided nearly $60,000 in assistance to families and individuals.

"We will increase our efforts to work with individuals prior to homelessness and work with them to prevent homelessness," Polsley said.