Capt. Deon Oliver, commanding officer of the
Salvation Army of Springfield, and Oak Ridge Neighborhood
Association president Phil Douglas agree on one thing: They wish
that they didn’t have to battle each other over a proposed
Salvation Army community center and homeless shelter. But that’s just what’s happening.
Douglas says that the location the Salvation
Army wants for its new facility, right across from the Oak Ridge
Cemetery, is inappropriate for several reasons. Drivers on the J. David Jones Parkway, he
notes, rarely abide by the posted speed limit. And, he says, the
neighborhood is “fearful the panhandlers will show up and
that would not be a good thing.” It wouldn’t be good
for the neighborhood, he says, and it wouldn’t be good for
Oak Ridge, the second most-visited cemetery in the nation. The Salvation Army, he says, “by its
very nature is a magnet for problems.”
But, Oliver maintains, there is a need in the
community for the Salvation Army’s services.
“I am saddened that people choose to
focus on elements they don’t understand,” he says. Of the 40 people now housed in the Salvation
Army’s transitional shelter, two-thirds have jobs, and
shelter staffers do not allow residents to “hang
around” outside the organization’s building on Sixth
Street, he says. The Salvation Army has been planning a new
facility for at least two years [see Todd Spivak, “The price
of salvation,” May 13, 2004]. In 2003, the organization
conducted a needs assessment to which more than 100 community
leaders were invited. Oliver says that the independent consultants found the
greatest need on the north side of town, where there were few
social-service agencies other than churches. This year alone, 400
people from the Oak Ridge neighborhood have used Salvation Army’s
services, Oliver says. Having outgrown the space the Salvation Army
has now, Oliver says, the new building, with its computer lab, game
room, basketball courts, health clinic, and café, will be
more of a community center than a shelter. Douglas thinks that the space would best be
used as a visitor center or parking lot for Oak Ridge Cemetery. “This is not a ‘not in my back
yard’ thing. They’re making us seem like we’re
backward yokels, but we’ve found no one who wants this,
except the Salvation Army and the State
Journal-Register,” Douglas says.
The daily paper has editorialized in favor of the center. Though admittedly frustrated, Oliver says
that this time has been challenging yet reaffirming. He says that
the Salvation Army has addressed all concerns, from safety to
aesthetics, and considered all alternatives — but has run out of options. “The community will suffer if the
Salvation Army doesn’t relocate. This is the best location,
at the best price, where we can make the biggest impact.”
The issue was scheduled to come to a head
this week, when the Springfield City Council was to vote on
“down-zoning” the property. However, the Salvation Army
asked for a continuance to hear concerns from veterans groups and a
local bank, which owns property in the area. When the Council votes next month, Ward 9 Ald.
Tom Selinger says he will carry out the will of his constituents.
Most, he says, have told him they oppose the proposed facility.
This article appears in Oct 13-19, 2005.
