July 26,
2002
Two programs that are part of the Rebuilding Lives plan to serve homeless men signed “Good Neighbor Agreements” with their neighbors over the past few months. The Commons at Grant, a housing development for formerly homeless and low-income residents scheduled to open in Summer of 2003, came to agreement with neighbors in the downtown south area. Faith Mission on 8th Avenue, a new shelter for homeless men that opened in October of 2001, signed an agreement with the Milo-Grogan Business Association and Milo-Grogan Area Commission.
“The Good Neighbor Agreement sets forth guidelines to benefit the entire community,” said Kevin Cary, who participated in negotiations with The Commons at Grant as a neighbor who lives at the Market-Mohawk Apartments across the street from the site. “It's a two-way contract. It encourages pride and dignity among the Commons at Grant's tenants, and suggests methods in which current downtown neighbors can assist their new neighbors.”
Ron Drews, Vice President for Operations and Chief Operating Officer for Lutheran Social Services, the parent organization for Faith Mission, also feels the agreement can serve as a bridge between neighborhoods and programs. “The Good Neighbor Agreement is really about partnership,” said Drews. “It is our way of initiating and sustaining a healthy relationship with the Milo-Grogan community. We're all concerned with community development, and I think the Good Neighbor Agreement helps us to find the similarities that exist between Milo-Grogan and Lutheran Social Services. Finding common ground helps us all as we work to positively change our environments." Drews added that obtaining a Good Neighbor Agreement is standard operating procedure for Lutheran Social Services.
Good Neighbor Agreements stem from the Rebuilding Lives community needs assessment and planning process. The Rebuilding Lives task force discovered that while most homeless men use shelters for only a short period of time, a small percentage of men use more than half the shelter beds because they are not able to maintain housing without additional support. The Rebuilding Lives plan calls for re-structuring shelters to better meet the needs of men with a short-term crisis. The plan also calls for the creation of supportive housing for long-term homeless persons to help them avoid returning to shelter.
The Rebuilding Lives task force realized that new programs needed to be good neighbors as they found sites within the community, and required shelters to seek Good Neighbor Agreements – they are recommended as a best practice for housing developments. The agreements specify how programs and neighborhoods interact to improve safety and communication, maintain attractive properties, and help residents succeed at finding a home in the community. The agreements may also encourage formerly homeless people to engage in service to the community, and become more integrated with their neighbors.
“Homelessness is an issue for the entire community,” said Barbara Poppe, Executive Director of the Community Shelter Board, “and we appreciate the community’s efforts to work together with us to find solutions. We realize that programs must be run responsibly, and work hard to be good neighbors in return.”
The Community Shelter Board, established in 1986, is a non-profit intermediary organization which coordinates community based efforts, fosters collaboration, and funds services to assist families and individuals in Central Ohio to resolve their housing crisis. The Community Shelter Board allocates $7.0 million annually to support programs at 15 agencies. Last year, these programs served more than 11,000 individuals. The Community Shelter Board is funded by the City of Columbus, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, the United Way of Central Ohio, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Sate of Ohio, and other public and private donors.
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