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REGULAR MEETING November 13, 2017
<br /> NEW BUSINESS
<br /> Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, I was just glad that Councilwoman Williams-Preston and I
<br /> and the Mayor were able to join with the opening of Western Avenue the new extension for
<br /> that. I'm looking forward to that being extended up to Falcon Street, and to follow along the
<br /> recommendation that was passed several years ago. Now, we're up to Dundee, and we'll
<br /> continue to go west.
<br /> PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR
<br /> Jesse Davis, P.O. Box 10205, South Bend, IN, stated that advocates for the homeless are
<br /> appreciative of what's going on regarding the City's tackling of its homelessness crisis, but he
<br /> disapproves of the fact that the City spent $3,000,000 to build the Fuse Center when there is a
<br /> another candidate building, purchasable for$500,000, that has been renovated, and has thirty
<br /> (30) rooms and office space. Mr. Davis stated that the Mayor's working group did not consist of
<br /> many of the advocates Mr. Davis among whom Mr. Davis would count himself, and that the
<br /> final report of the working group made little mention of helpful measures for mental health. He
<br /> stated that it is exceedingly difficult to get help for mental health and that many of the homeless
<br /> have mental health issues. Mr. Davis also pointed out that there are still housing barriers in
<br /> place—such as the fact there are more housing managers to deal with than landlords and that
<br /> there are credit checks that stop homeless applicants at the first step—that will challenge the
<br /> endeavor to house the homeless.
<br /> John Shafer, 2206 Miami Street, South Bend, IN, stated that there is not sufficient warm shelter
<br /> space for the homeless in South Bend, and that he urges the City to be in communication with
<br /> the homeless—to let their voice be heard,to be shown respect in all matters. Between Weather
<br /> Amnesty and Project Fuse, there are only eighty-seven(87)beds available for the over one-
<br /> hundred and fifty (15 0) homeless in the city. Mr. Shafer stated, This simply is not good enough.
<br /> Mr. Shafer stated that Thomas Rebman, a noted homeless solutions expert,visited South Bend in
<br /> February and March to advise the City as to how it could solve its homelessness problem, but
<br /> that his recommendations were ignored. Mr. Shafer stated, I would like to know why his
<br /> recommendations were ignored and why the Mayor won't meet with him.
<br /> Charles Smith, 2011 South Warren Street, South Bend, IN, stated that homelessness is often the
<br /> culmination of many other hardships for a person. Mr. Smith stated that the encampment under
<br /> the bridge is not blocking the right-of-way and that the skids that were ordered by Mayor
<br /> Buttigieg to be removed should technically be considered the property of those in the
<br /> encampment, and that their rights to that property should be protected. He suggested a bill of
<br /> rights for the homeless be created by the City, following the lead of Indianapolis. Mr. Smith
<br /> stated that, as there are not twenty-four(24) hour bathrooms in South Bend, the homeless are
<br /> forced to urinate publicly. He urged for the provision of temporary waste facilities for the
<br /> homeless.
<br /> Henry Davis, Jr., 5117 Idlewood Drive, South Bend, IN, echoed Mr. Smith's statement regarding
<br /> a homeless bill of rights. Mr. Davis stated that time on the issue of homelessness would be better
<br /> spent acting legislatively than discussing without action things like the number of homeless
<br /> people in the city.
<br /> Cody Williams, 20880 Roycroft Drive, South Bend, IN, stated that he was present with a petition
<br /> with over four-hundred(400) signatures, regarding the disrespectful treatment of the homeless
<br /> in particular, signs in downtown South Bend discouraging the donation of dollars to panhandlers.
<br /> Mr. Williams compared these to signs that state "don't feed the animals," adding that he found
<br /> the matter disconcerting.
<br /> Jason Heuberger, 808 East Bowman Street, South Bend, IN, stated that the notion that
<br /> panhandling is a protected form of speech has been upheld in many courts throughout the United
<br /> States. Mr. Heuberger noted one (1)particular case where the judge stated that he made no
<br /> distinction between a charity soliciting donations for itself and a person doing so for his-or-
<br /> herself. Mr. Heuberger stated that the City seems to be more concerned with having the image of
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