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The rules

Shelter residents must:

By ERIC STIRGUS

CLEARWATER -- Brian Schuh has been converted. He is one of the believers.

Schuh thought he saw trouble coming two years ago when he learned the city planned to put a homeless shelter near his business on Park Street.

Homeless people often hung out in that neighborhood, panhandling at the car wash across the street from Schuh's shop. He feared a shelter would bring more homeless.

Schuh and others in the neighborhood were so concerned they considered going to court to fight the proposed shelter.

But now, as the shelter completes its first year, Schuh regards it a success. He even suggests other parts of Pinellas with a homeless problem might want to build shelters like the one in Clearwater.

"I wouldn't have thought a couple of years ago I would say something like that," said Schuh, co-owner of Genie of Clearwater, which sells and installs garage doors.

So what gives?

Many say the shelter's strict rules are the reason both for its success and for the impact it's had in reducing the homeless population in Clearwater.

"It's improved because there is some regulation (at the shelter)," said Pat Vaughn, another former foe of the shelter.

With 48 beds for men, women and children, the shelter, at 1339 Park St. in downtown Clearwater, requires those who move in to abide by a set of rules to stay there and to eat at the soup kitchen next door.

People living there must fill out paperwork and be photographed for an identification card. Within a week of arriving, the shelter's residents must either have a job or show they are close to finding one. Those dependent on alcohol or drugs must attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

"People are starting to see it makes sense," said Police Chief Sid Klein, who led the effort to build the shelter.

Working with him was a group called CHIP, the Clearwater Homeless Intervention Project. CHIP now operates the shelter.

The slate of regulations were in place before the shelter was built. Clearwater's homeless population -- much like that in other cities -- long had been an issue. People complained the homeless urinated in public and drew prostitutes and drug users to neighborhoods they frequented.

The shelter provides a structured environment so the homeless who live there can pick themselves up and become financially stable.

Resident Ron Joyce says the shelter has become his "new Jerusalem." While there, he says, he has experienced a spiritual rebirth after years of drug abuse.

"This is a great opportunity for people who want to use it," said Joyce, 47. He has lived at the shelter since October and is the resident adviser to CHIP.

"It allowed me to pay old bills. It allowed me to make new friends. It allowed me to come to my Christian roots. It's a blessing," said Joyce.

Joyce said he has quit smoking, no longer does drugs and has joined the Christian Life Church on Cleveland Street, where he sings in the choir.

His long-term goal:

"To be able to say, if someone asks: "What's your phone number?' . . . I'm listed."

There is no time limit on how long residents can stay at the shelter. Its residents are encouraged to save enough money to pay for first and last month's rent at their next address before leaving the facility. Shelter operators say they are confident residents will not take advantage of the shelter and stay too long.

Those involved with CHIP say it's too early to measure the shelter's success. As Joyce pointed out, the shelter, as its name suggests, is a "project."

More than 1,100 people have registered at the shelter so far, and CHIP executive director Terry Hammond said 73 percent have "graduated" from the program.

In some cases, graduation has meant saving enough money for an apartment. For others, it has meant reuniting with family. A few have been able to get on their feet financially. Others have left without leaving a way for shelter operators to keep in touch with them.

A year after its celebrated grand opening, the shelter still has a new look.

A tan building with palm trees at the front entrance, the shelter's rules are posted all over its walls. Eight- by 11-inch signs warn residents to clean their rooms before leaving for the day. A chart on the bathroom doors gives residents their cleaning assignments for the week. A police substation is on the property.

The living space is divided into three separate dormitories. One room has 33 beds for men. The second has nine beds for women. The third has six beds for families. Each bed is separated by a wall and every resident has their own locker.

With an operating budget of $394,000 yearly, the shelter is funded primarily by the city and county. Its organizers would like more private donations. CHIP officials would like to buy more living space, possibly motels near the shelter on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard. Those would be used by people making the transition from homeless to apartment dweller.

The shelter was modeled after others in Orlando, Philadelphia and San Diego.

"We're trying to get individuals to understand they need help," said Ed Brant, director of the Salvation Army's homeless intervention program, which is subcontracted to run the center. "Nobody wants to be homeless. I don't think it's in a person's nature to want to live without a roof over their head. It's time for you to take responsibility and either you take responsibility or not accept any help at all."

Steve Berg, director of programs for the National Alliance to End Homelessness in Washington D.C., said many of the CHIP rules, such as the cards, are not common at shelters elsewhere. But he noted "in terms of the rules, shelters are all over the map."

Police believe most of the hard-core homeless who refuse to stay at the shelter have left the city. With eight officers on bicycle patrol in the downtown area, arrests of homeless people have gone up.

Those who don't have ID cards can come to the shelter during the day to shower, wash clothes and use the counseling services. But without the ID card, they cannot eat.

This bothers Mary Lou Guthart, who runs the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen next door to the shelter.

"We don't like this idea of people needing an ID card but it's a community rule and we're a part of the community and we are going to have to abide by it," she said. "We feel God said feed the poor. He didn't say only feed those who are not drinking or who are not on drugs."

Still, shelter operators believe in their rules.

"Without those controls, then you are not doing anything but feeding them and warehousing them," said Klein, president of CHIP's board of directors. "There's got to be a clear indication that these are the rules.

"It's been a challenge and I think in the long run, it's going to work. We just need some time and resources."

CHIP shelter Beds: 48

Registered clients: 1,100

Space: 9,000 square fee Budget: $394,000

Funding sources: block grants, other grants, $100,000 from the city of Clearwater, donation

Staff: 10 paid employees, one intern

Shelter residents must:

seek employment

attend daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings if alcohol or drug dependent

participate in counseling

meet personal goals, budget plan

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