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REGULAR MEETINGNOVEMBER 14, 2005
<br />center, the latter two during the last two years. If the CWH are forced to leave, besides
<br />these buildings, there will be 3 empty lots, 5 empty houses, 2 businesses, 1 cheap rental
<br />building (Osborne House) and 4 small-occupied single-family dwellings; that will be an
<br />open invitation to the crack houses, criminals and drug use of the past. There needs to be
<br />a new plan. The CWH have brought back to civilization a family home that the South
<br />Bend Heritage had given up on (Charlotte Sobel, witness at the Board of Zoning Appeals,
<br />October 20); as renters, they have brought new life to 3 other neighboring residences;
<br />they have produced the finest vegetable garden on the whole street; and at the same time,
<br />they have given hope to people who needed and were looking for help. The recent
<br />human tragedies in south Asia from the tsunami and the earthquake and in New Orleans
<br />from hurricane Katrina have made us all more sensitive to helping our fellow human
<br />beings. It would be ironic if the South Bend Council cannot reach out and help those
<br />needing help within our own city. We need a new plan to help the CWH to continue
<br />helping these people. As a new plan, he proposes maintenance of CWH until at least one
<br />or more of the three large structures is/are in use. The Council can give the CWH a one
<br />to two year period to adjust their program to be in line with the request of their neighbors
<br />– e.g. numbers of guests, etc. The opening this winter of the CW drop-in shelter on
<br />South Michigan will help the Catholic Worker on West Washington to reach and
<br />maintain the family structure being requested, and allow strict enforcement of any such
<br />regulations. Mr. Berry suggested a maximum number of temporary guests be required –
<br />for example, not more than 8 guests per night, which is often the present number, and for
<br />stays no longer than periods of a number of nights (the present number varies greatly, but
<br />averages only 1 to 2 months). For example, the Council can require verified records of
<br />the guests, numbers and names to be recorded and submitted to appropriate authorities.
<br />Rapid investigation and recording of crimes committed within a five-block area could be
<br />compared with these records. We should remember that crimes are committed by
<br />“homed” as well as “homeless” people. People living at the CWH are, by definition, no
<br />longer “homeless” people. As a previous member of the Chapin/Washington
<br />Redevelopment Group, and also a present Board member of the Near West Side
<br />Neighborhood Organization, I believe that such a new plan can be developed and an
<br />agreement reached, but only if the Council allows all parties to help in its development.
<br />Mr. Berry stated that his 3-year-old granddaughter is fond of saying: “I have a plan, a
<br />new plan: if you don’t want to hear my plan, then stick your fingers in you ears”. Now is
<br />not the time for the council members to stick their fingers in their ears. They need to help
<br />develop a new plan, which is in accordance with all their constituents. Isn’t that what our
<br />elected representatives are supposed do? A final though: perhaps Connie Blair is right,
<br />the paranoia has been evident in recent open and secretive meetings of the Near West
<br />Side Neighborhood Organization. The Council needs to show them a new plan.
<br />Father Thomas Jones, Pastor, Christ the King Catholic Church, South Bend, Indiana, read
<br />into the record a letter from Revered John M. D’Arcy, Bishop, Diocese of Fort Wayne –
<br />South Bend, 1103 South Calhoun Street, P. O. Box 390, Fort Wayne, Indiana, regarding
<br />the issued of the Catholic Worker House, sometimes called the Peter Claver House, on
<br />the west side of South Bend. Bishop D’Arcy writes that he hopes the Council, concerned
<br />as they are as part of your great responsibility for the common good, and anxious, as your
<br />previous record show, to preserve the neighborhoods and, at the same time, to care to
<br />hose in need, will seek reconciliation and perhaps, through some means known better by
<br />yourselves, that both values present in this situation might be preserved. He commended
<br />the Council for giving so much of their time and energy to the public service of this
<br />beloved city. He promised in his prayers that a good solution might be arrived at in this
<br />important matter.
<br />John Patrick Riley, Sacred Heart Church, South Bend, Indiana, stated that there is an
<br />important lesson to be learned and taught here. Teaching the importance of concern and
<br />caring for those less fortunate and by being hospitable toward people who are down on
<br />their luck and having a hard time coping with daily issues, that kindness still exits in the
<br />world today.
<br />Ms. Adeline Jones, 1131 W. Washington Street, South Bend, Indiana, stated that she has
<br />lived in the neighborhood for 41 years. She to was seeking a rezoning on a property
<br />located in the neighborhood to allow for her business to continue. Ms. Jones stated that
<br />the same courtesy should be extended to the Catholic Worker Home. She advised that
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