By Ben Cox
With colder weather setting in, community members, service providers and the Jacksonville City Council came together on November 10 at the Jacksonville Municipal Building to discuss how to help the growing number of unhoused residents at a meeting of the Special Studies Committee.
The conversation was aimed at keeping people safe through the winter and finding longer-term solutions to homelessness in Jacksonville. Special Studies Committee Chair Eren White-Williams opened the meeting with a plea for compassion. “You wouldn’t leave a dog out in weather like this,” she said. “What can we do for people who have nowhere to go?”
Residents have expressed concerns about individuals sleeping outside, using alleyways for restrooms, and carrying all their belongings in public spaces. The goal, participants agreed, is to balance community safety with dignity and care for those struggling without shelter.
Others noted that the unhoused from neighboring counties of Montgomery, Macoupin, Cass, Greene and Sangamon have relocated to Jacksonville. Representatives of New Directions explained that their facility currently houses 14 people and can hold up to 20.
The shelter provides overnight stays for individuals who pass a background check and remain sober for at least 24 hours. “We’re a medium-barrier shelter,” said Director David Bergman. “We try to help each guest get on the housing waiting list, but options are limited.”
The Jacksonville Salvation Army is also exploring the idea of reopening a downtown day center or emergency warming space. Its previous downtown location served 50 people a day; the current site at 1124 Wall Street has become less accessible to the unhoused who congregate near the Downtown Square.
Much of the conversation centered on short-term steps that could be implemented quickly. Former Police Chaplain Alan Bradish suggested a day or night center. The low-barrier space would act as a place that unhoused residents could come indoors to rest, warm up and have a snack or coffee.
Churches, civic groups or nonprofits could rotate hosting duties. However, several in the audience noted the high hurdle of liability insurance costs. Some requested that the City Council approve a subsidy for insurance costs, at least in the short term to find an immediate solution.
Local ministry leaders Duke and Luke Demos shared their work providing meals, clothing and prayer to unhoused residents at Community Park each Sunday. They hope to use the Senior Citizens Center in Community Park as a winter gathering space and have asked the city to consider waiving the $250 rental fee.
“Everything we do comes out of our own pockets,” Duke said. “We just want to help these folks stay warm.”
City Council members Don Cook and Lori Large Ordenettel asked for greater coordination and communication among the groups. Jada Lutzke, one of the co-operators of a new group seeking to create a low-barrier shelter option called The Station, says the group is currently not meeting as they seek to achieve 501(c)(3) status to get fully established, but have previously met and attempted to coordinate with all the groups attempting to help the unhoused in the city.
Former city worker and current Jacksonville Area Food Center volunteer Linda Brown asked for the city council to take the lead on the issue.
“I would like to see my city take a more proactive attitude toward the homeless and several other issues so as not to be the bad guy anymore,” Brown noted, “I mean, [the homeless] are being criminalized and the city’s looking like the bad guy on this and they’re not ever going to go away. I think it’s the time for the city to tighten its belts in other areas to help these people in what’s becoming the problem of the country really. It’s really not going to go away.”
The city council has previously explored a public property camping ordinance modeled after a proposed ordinance from the Illinois Municipal League earlier this year due to homeless encampments in the boulevards on Dunlap Court and in other areas throughout the city.
Neighboring South Jacksonville passed the ordinance earlier this summer after multiple encampments were discovered around Mauvaisterre Lake near Nichols Park. Mayor Andy Ezard noted in the later business meeting that the homelessness issue has many parts and all of the council members have different opinions on how to handle the problem. He says it will take time but is hopeful some answers can be found to help the unhoused and quiet some safety concerns.
The conversation will resume at the next scheduled Jacksonville City Council meeting on November 24 with a Special Studies Committee hearing prior to the Committee of the Whole session, where leaders hope to turn ideas into action before winter temperatures hit their lowest.
