Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Pickets greet mayor at church

They protest the removal of homeless tents, but it dismays officials working to resolve the issue.

By ROBERT FARLEY
Published January 8, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - As the 10:30 a.m. service let out at Northside Baptist Church on Sunday, the protesters split into two groups. With only two available exits, Mayor Rick Baker would have to pass by one.

The pickets, about 75 strong, came to Baker's church to object to city efforts in closing down an impromptu tent city for homeless people on the St. Vincent de Paul property in the 1400 block of Fourth Avenue N.

They held signs that read, "Rick Baker Didn't Learn Anything at Church" and "Real Christians Don't Evict" and "Save Tent City." Many of the messages were written on the back of Baker's re-election campaign signs.

City officials later reacted to the pickets with frustration, saying they were making progress on solutions to the problem - and that delivering pointed messages outside a church was not likely to help.

The camp emerged a little more than a week ago, when dozens of homeless people moved off public land across the street to the nearby St. Vincent de Paul Society lot.

Last week, city officials gave the society one week to evict the inhabitants, saying living in tents is prohibited by city code.

The Rev. Bruce J. Wright of Refuge Ministries, which is dedicated to helping the homeless, argued that the tent city was a viable, if temporary, solution while the city looked for a building to use as an additional emergency shelter.

Wright helped to organize the protest Sunday. He said some Northside Baptist Church leaders criticized him, saying it was inappropriate to raise political issues at Baker's church.

"This isn't just a political issue," Wright said. "It's also a spiritual issue. ... Jesus spoke up for the poor."

Baker defended Sunday the city's response to the homeless issue and addressed the protest.

"This is America, and people have a right to protest," Baker said. "But protesting at a church is not something I'd recommend. Fortunately, I have a loving church, and the pastor invited the protesters to worship with us today, which a number of them did."

He said county officials agreed Friday to send social workers to help city officials interview the tent city residents and identify alternative placements.

Baker added that the city has significantly increased services to the homeless in recent years.

"It's an ongoing effort, and we continue to do our best to meet the needs," Baker said. "Our desire as a city is to try to help those who are in need and who are trying to work toward independence."

City Council Chairman Bill Foster, who last week criticized the city's eviction ultimatum, said a lot of positive things have spun out of last week's controversy. He called the demonstration "unfortunate."

"We have momentum for the homeless cause," he said "Demonstrating in front of a house of worship, in my opinion, that sets it back some. You're not going to make friends with the top guy in the city doing that."

Homeless on agenda

Foster said city officials were energized to resolve the conflict.

"The people who need the most, they have our attention, and we're going to keep after it," Foster said.

It was never the mayor's intent to strong-arm the tent city residents, Foster said. But the mayor did draw a line that the city was not going to allow any more people to come to the site. And make no mistake, he said, St. Vincent de Paul wanted some action by the city.

"They got in over their heads," he said.

The city is not going to run off people who have nowhere else to go, Foster said.

"I feel comfortable we are going to find placement for everyone by the end of it," he said. "Tent cities can't be the solution. We have to do better than that."

At the same time, he said, the city wanted to send a message that it will not be a welcome center for people who choose to live on the streets.

Tent city like a family

On Sunday at the church service, Wright and a handful of tent city residents intended to hold up Bible verses during the hymns but were asked not to by church officials.

The residents spoke Sunday of a family-like community that has developed there.

Willie Harper, 52, said he turned to the tent city because he had nowhere else to go. A graduate of Northeast High School and the University of Florida, Harper suffers from sickle cell anemia and can no longer work, he said.

"I'm a part of this community," Harper said. "We need to go somewhere. You just can't leave people out on the street."

As of Sunday morning, 63 people were staying at the tent city.

No one was sure Sunday if Baker had even driven through the protesters' gauntlet after church let out.

Still, Wright said, "I think we made our point."

[Last modified February 8, 2007, 11:24:08]