By Gayle Johnson, LNP
Public officials, nonprofits, local businesses, volunteers and community members need to work together to find Columbia a permanent homeless shelter.That was the consensus among the people who spoke during a Nov. 6 panel discussion on homelessness in the borough.
About 50 people gathered in borough hall to share their thoughts on the local homeless population and listen to input from Borough Council President Heather Zink, borough manager Mark Stivers, police Chief Jack Brommer and pastor David Powers, who runs a homeless shelter out of Columbia Presbyterian Church on South Fourth Street.
Powers operated a homeless shelter with upward of 30 beds at 291 S. Fourth St. until the end of April, when Lancaster Mennonite Conference, which owns the building, leased the space to a congregation.
The pastor petitioned Borough Council for help finding another location in October 2022, but to no avail. So Powers opened Columbia Presbyterian to about 15 unsheltered people. Another eight receive meals and services there but don't spend the night.
"We are packed to the gills," Powers said. "We need a permanent location."
Lancaster County Homelessness Coalition's annual winter count in February found that 526 people across the county were homeless, with 107 people living on the streets and 419 finding space in shelters.
Business owners say the homeless population is becoming more noticeable on the streets of downtown Columbia, and that visibility could be hurting the bottom line.
"We acknowledge that there's a situation that needs a solution," Stivers said. "We've got to find a facility that's going to work."
Many of the people who attended the meeting urged business owners and borough officials to show compassion.
Chris Dreisbach, CEO of Blueprints for Addiction Recovery, spoke about his own battle with homelessness 17 years ago, when he had to sleep in parks and on benches because no one would give me a couch.
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