A volunteer committee enlisted to review Little Rock's proposal to restrict group meals for the homeless in parks will urge the city to shelve the idea and support a 90-day experiment to move some suppers across town.
The committee reached an agreement on what to suggest Friday morning, four days before its deadline to report to the city Board of Directors. If officials follow the proposal, the city would at least temporarily not only avoid becoming the latest municipality to limit meals for the homeless but also evade a threatened legal battle.
The committee, over 46 days, met with homeless advocates, volunteers who serve dinner, city officials and the director of the Jericho Way Resource Center to develop the plan. It would require the city to erect a tent near Jericho Way, 3000 Confederate Blvd., and to shuttle the homeless back and forth from downtown Little Rock by expanding an existing van service.
At least six groups from a coalition of 20 or so churches and volunteers who traditionally served meals under the Broadway Bridge have committed to moving on a trial basis, committee members said. Others have not decided, and some have ruled it out for now.
"I want to remind everyone that progress is measured in inches," committee Chairman Jordan Johnson said. "There will be hiccups ... but we are committed to working through this."
No committee members objected to the recommendation, which Johnson will formally give at the Board of Directors' 4 p.m. meeting Tuesday at City Hall, 500 W. Markham St.
City Manager Bruce Moore in May introduced an ordinance that would have required people to obtain a "large group feeding" permit, pay a $25 fee and pay a $100 refundable deposit before providing meals to 25 or more people in a city park. Such permits were limited to six per year in each of the city's 63 parks.
Modeled after a law in Orlando, Fla., that has withstood legal challenges, according to City Attorney Tom Carpenter, the proposal would have made Little Rock one of dozens of cities across the U.S. to place restrictions on feeding the homeless since 2013, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas' legal director in May sent Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola and city board members a warning that the ordinance would lead to "extensive litigation against and exposure for the city and, more importantly, it would violate people's rights."
City directors postponed a vote at the request of Vice Mayor Kathy Webb and City Director Dean Kumpuris, who said the issue needed further study. A committee consisting of homeless people, advocates, business representatives and faith leaders convened for the first time on May 23.
"Is it perfect? No," Webb said of the plan. "Do I like a lot of the aspects of the option? No. ... It's a start, and if we don't start, then we go back to the same place we were -- groups not working together, with the business community not being involved, with no long-term solutions."
The meal-serving coalition, called the Broadway Bridge Project, emerged early as the committee's focal point after members found it to to be the only known group that has regularly served meals to a large number of homeless people in a public park.
Over the past few weeks, the committee has focused largely on using city-owned property at Jericho Way -- but not the facility because it closes in the midafternoon -- as a new location for the suppers.
Johnson, who works as a spokesman for the Clinton Presidential Center, said the immediate goal is to avoid the ordinance. The long-term aspiration, he said, is to bring more homeless people and funding to Jericho Way so that broader services, such as job- and home-finding aid, are within reach of the four-nights-a-week suppers.
Most Broadway Bridge Project affiliates have not yet agreed to the new location, and some have declined to move. They will continue serving at From His Throne Ministries on West Markham Street, where the coalition has been based since bridge construction displaced it.
"It made sense, for the people we served, for us to come to them," said Jim Garrett, who volunteers with St. James United Methodist Church and serves meals with the Broadway Bridge Project.
Greg Pendleton, who serves meals with Pulaski Heights Christian Church and Our Lady of the Holy Souls Catholic Church, is skeptical of the move.
"It's all speculation," Pendleton said of the goal to eventually link the dinners with broader Jericho Way services.
Committee members acknowledged that the proposal is imperfect but called on volunteers to help make it work.
"This only works if the faith community currently providing meals is willing to partner with the city in this experiment," said Gabe Holmstrom, who heads a nonprofit representing downtown businesses.
Elizabeth Dowell, the Broadway Bridge Project's coordinator, previously said she's open to a trial but that individual groups make their own decisions about when and where to serve meals. Dowell couldn't be reached for comment Friday.
"I think many people realize also [From His Throne] is a private entity and therefore, long-term, it may or may not be a viable option regardless of any of our efforts to do otherwise," Johnson said. "There are permitting issues. It could sell. There are a variety of issues."
Jericho Way Director Mandy Davis said in an interview that Little Rock would have to renegotiate its contract with the charity DePaul USA to expand services at the facility. Extending the center's hours also would require more staff members and day-to-day facility upkeep, she said.
"What I think is, the better option is to not run that building into the ground," Davis said. "I think that we need another Jericho Way. I think there should be satellite offices throughout the city."
Jericho Way, which serves breakfast and lunch, offers an array of services aimed at helping people transition away from homelessness. They range from access to showers, laundry machines and mail to individual case management and job training.
Davis said she supports the idea, particularly on a trial basis, to gauge participation and how it's managed. But she also stressed that although it shares property, Jericho Way is not a participant.
"This doesn't impact Jericho Way's mission, honestly," Davis said.
Should city directors adopt the recommendation, the committee will continue meeting to focus on details, such as how to provide tables and chairs and whether on-site security is necessary, Johnson said.
The committee would track data -- such as how many meals Broadway Bridge Project affiliates serve at Jericho Way compared with how many they now serve downtown -- and re-evaluate the idea after 90 days, Johnson said.
Metro on 07/08/2017