Among many of the city of Baltimore's flaws, one that has had dangerous repercussions to human life is the city's "Code Blue" policy during the winter months, regarding a particular homeless shelter known as the "cold blue shelter."
Prior to this past winter, this shelter was not open during the night unless the air temperature dropped below 25 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind was measured at a minimum of 15 mph.
If these pre-requisites were met, the shelter would open their doors for the homeless of "Charm City."
This alone should appall anyone. The city is setting a standard for when they will or will not act on behalf of the homeless However, the city decided for the winter season of 2006-2007 to remain open every night, but not during the daytime.
This was, a step in the right direction, but only a small one. It does not reflect well on the city's responsiveness that it has taken this long to implement a standing policy of housing the disenfranchised during the colder months.
However, it seems as though Baltimore's new mayor, Sheila Dixon, is beginning to take somewhat broader steps towards addressing one of this city's biggest problems.
In recent weeks the Dixon administration has expressed its strong interest in renovating a piece of property, an abandoned former school building located on Guilford Street, and refurbishing it into the first winter shelter in Baltimore that would not only be open everyday, but also for 24 hours a day.
There has been tension, though, from the neighborhood surrounding the building as well as from Cristo Rey, a Jesuit high school.
In a recent Baltimore Sun news section article, it was reported that the high school, located on South Chester Street, wished to purchase the deteriorating building and transform it into their new school. The problem at this point for the school is that it is lacking the funds needed to purchase the property from the city. It was also reported that the people who live in the neighborhood surrounding the building, who are a part of what is known as the New Greenmount West Community Association, are protesting the idea of a homeless shelter in the area.
Their argument derives from the amount of people the shelter would house (which is estimated at 300 men, women, and children).
This is a number and group of citizens they strongly feel would contribute to a spike in criminal activity. This project, they also cite, is an initiative they aren't sure how long will actually be in their neighborhood.
It seems, however, that there have already been problems with the building in the current dilapidated state it currently is in. After speaking last week with Tony Bridges, of the mayor's Office of Neighborhood and Constituent Services, I was told there has been a high amount of illegal activity going on in the former schoolhouse.
The arguments of the residents, while very vocal, are not exactly on target. I don't think they have been able to completely see beyond their theorized cons of the situation and simply face the blunt truth: people cannot and should not have to spend the night freezing on the streets.
They are protesting a good-intentioned initiative that this administration is trying to implement.
So dedicated is this administration to this appeasing the critics that it has held meetings, or "cultural town hall meetings," as they have been referred to as, with the residents to enrich the dialogue between the two parties.
In fact, just last Monday, Baltimore's Deputy Mayor Andy Frank held one of these cultural town hall meetings at MICA, where he discussed the drafting of a letter the city was writing to the residents explaining how this shelter is only temporary.
As Mr. Bridges told me, the city is currently looking for a location of what will be a permanent winter shelter, while in the interim, the renovation of this building will proceed, as will the plans to take in the homeless this winter.
The city does want Cristo Rey High School to have this building eventually, but only when they have the money to purchase it. This time frame remains unknown at this point.
So these visually proactive steps the mayor's office is taking should be regarded with accolades. The legal action by the residents of the New Greenmount West Community, although they would most likely end in futility, is merely a ploy to try and undermine community work that would be a good start to executing a better approach to relations with the growing homeless population.
The city is trying to alleviate a problem that actually exists, and not ones that are off base and unsupported (at least, at this point) like the ones these residents are trying to advertise.
This incident follows the typical trend of give and take that you can find between a government and its constituents -- a healthy quality for a city to possess, (demonstrating the role people can play in proposing change), but at the same time, a very frustrating one. The idea of re-zoning deteriorating communities around the city based upon income and lifestyles is becoming more widespread.
I feel as though some of these people should try spending a night out in the cold and staying warm the best they can, let alone getting a good night's sleep.
Maybe then they would see eye to eye with the mayor's desire to alleviate both a neighborhood issue with beautification and practicality, and an urban social concern with compassion and justice.
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