Larry Rice - New Life Evangelistic Center

dweebe · PostJan 07, 2015#7512015-01-07T19:18+00:00

jstriebel wrote:
framer wrote:Funny, but I've never felt uncomfortable at the Central Library. Maybe I've just got good timing (or maybe the homeless avoid the Art & Architecture room).
I've felt uncomfortable, but maybe in the more literal sense. I don't trust the cleanliness of the chairs. The smells aren't good. The bathrooms aren't great.

Outside I feel uncomfortable more in the nervous sense. Whether it's being asked for money or being unsure about your safety, the large gathering of homeless isn't great.

The library is fantastic, and everyone is welcome. But it's not supposed to be a daytime shelter.

For a place so recently completely renovated: I've never seen something trashed so quickly. I went to the Central Library last week and it was so sad.

robertn42 · PostJan 07, 2015#7522015-01-07T19:30+00:00

Ebsy wrote:First of all, not just City residents use the library; County residents are allowed to hold library cards for SLPS. Also, people from outside St. Louis visit Central Library, because as you said, it is a jewel and attracts visitors. I don't think banning people from outside the City is the right solution.

Good point and you're right. I was just grasping at straws for a quick and easy solution. Right now the central library falls into the bucket of things in St Louis with unrealized potential and that bucket is overflowing...

jstriebel · PostJan 07, 2015#7532015-01-07T22:56+00:00

And just to be clear, it has nothing to do with the way the library is run or the staff there. It's almost entirely a result of being Larry's neighbor.

dweebe · PostJan 08, 2015#7542015-01-08T01:47+00:00

jstriebel wrote:And just to be clear, it has nothing to do with the way the library is run or the staff there. It's almost entirely a result of being Larry's neighbor.

They were hired to be librarians. Not social workers, custodians and police officers.

jstriebel · PostJan 08, 2015#7552015-01-08T01:51+00:00

dweebe wrote:
jstriebel wrote:And just to be clear, it has nothing to do with the way the library is run or the staff there. It's almost entirely a result of being Larry's neighbor.
They were hired to be librarians. Not social workers, custodians and police officers.

Not sure if you're agreeing or if you took my statement to be sarcasm, but it wasn't at all.

I'm with you. The staff does a fine job there. This isn't their problem to solve and it's unfair that they have to deal with it.

jcity · PostJan 08, 2015#7562015-01-08T03:45+00:00

Mayor Slay, shut Larry Rice down! Lots of empty warehouses could be converted into a shelter north of downtown on Hall St or N Broadway.
The library is getting trashed. this doesn't seem unique to St. Louis.
Seriously, can anyone provide an intelligent argument as to why Larry Rice should be able to operate this "shelter"?

chaifetz10 · PostJan 08, 2015#7572015-01-08T15:08+00:00

I don't believe there are any actual rational or intelligent arguments... only conjecture and mindsets that it's keeping homeless downtown, and away from other parts of St. Louis. Many seem to only want to keep the status quo, simply because it's easier for them to not deal with. I would venture that many who are supporting letting Rice continue think: "It's downtown's problem, not mine. Keep it that way. Make the Hipsters and Yuppies worry about it."

It's NIMBYism on a regional level.

jsbru · PostJan 08, 2015#7582015-01-08T17:31+00:00

I was also at the library this last Sunday, although I was there a bit later. There were some homeless people there really smelling up the place. That's not something that's going to bother me or keep me away. But, as you can imagine, it's going to prevent a lot of other people who are more "iffy" on the urban experience from seeing the gorgeous library as a plus.

I was actually there to check out a book, and the guy at the desk seemed relieved. They spent like how many tens of millions to renovate that place, and it's basically a day shelter for Larry Rice's homeless villa.

I'm not saying homeless people don't need services. They certainly do. But housing them in the library during the day isn't helping them, it isn't helping the library, and it's not helping the city. I'm 100% sure there's at least a dozen more rational solutions out there that help everybody involved a lot more.

jcity · PostJan 10, 2015#7592015-01-10T22:48+00:00

I'm sorry, but if people are smelling up the place, they should be asked to leave.

Ebsy · PostJan 11, 2015#7602015-01-11T02:03+00:00

jcity wrote:I'm sorry, but if people are smelling up the place, they should be asked to leave.

I don't think being smelly is really illegal. I know there are often homeless people camped out in Buder, and they can be pretty rank as well.

True_dope · PostJan 27, 2015#7612015-01-27T18:47+00:00

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2015/01/27/ ... and-leave/ this is good for our image

roger wyoming II · PostJan 27, 2015#7622015-01-27T18:51+00:00

^ Unfortunately these are all over America; it really is sad. It also points out that the issues are much bigger than Larry Rice and NLEC. Of course, we're also wanting to clear out the Stamping Lofts project which has been held out as a success in our fight against homelessness. So there's that.

True_dope · PostFeb 17, 2015#7632015-02-17T21:59+00:00

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crim ... c3980.html

A city board on Tuesday finalized an order that requires the Rev. Larry Rice's New Life Evangelistic Center to either close or reduce its capacity.

shimmy · PostFeb 24, 2015#7642015-02-24T19:44+00:00

St. Louis seems to be in the New York Times a lot.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/23/us/sh ... .html?_r=0

eee123 · PostFeb 24, 2015#7652015-02-24T21:43+00:00

shimmy wrote:St. Louis seems to be in the New York Times a lot.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/23/us/sh ... .html?_r=0

Developers, businesspeople and city officials have blamed the center for attracting riffraff, drug dealing, public urination and fights...

With today's warm weather, I've seen all of the above just today.

moorlander · PostMar 04, 2015#7662015-03-04T22:04+00:00

Far From Finished, Fight Between Rev. Larry Rice’s Homeless Shelter and City Heads to Court

....In late February, it put out a request for proposals for emergency shelter. In doing so, Mayor Francis Slay unveiled plans to open two new emergency shelters by April, as well as expand existing shelters, to add a total of 225 emergency-shelter beds, roughly equivalent to what Rice now provides.....

....In announcing this plan, Slay didn’t mince words, clearly taking aim at what he views as poor care from Rice. “It is not good enough to warehouse people for a night, in substandard conditions, give them a meal, and then send them on their way to fend for themselves until darkness comes again,” Slay said. “Without question, providing food and temporary shelter is necessary, and at times, lifesaving. But it is just as important to spend the time, energy, and other resources to help people who are homeless live a more stable, safe, and dignified life. That means supporting traditional emergency shelters with uniform and centralized intake, rigorous assessment, and case management to shorten stays and connect people to stable transitional and permanent housing as a way to leave life on the streets. Our goal must be to reduce homelessness, not enable it."

In explaining what these new shelters might look like, Slay again drew a contrast between what he hoped to create and what Rice has to offer. “The operators of these shelters will treat emergency shelter the way it should be treated: as an emergency,” he said. “These shelters will become places for new beginnings, not places of ‘last resort.’”

more here
http://www.stlmag.com/news/far-from-fin ... homeless-/

downtown2007 · PostApr 08, 2015#7672015-04-08T22:03+00:00

Date pushed back to Oct

http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-a ... touch=true

dweebe · PostApr 08, 2015#7682015-04-08T22:14+00:00

downtown2007 wrote:Date pushed back to Oct

http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-a ... touch=true

Shocking.

I'm going to go waaaay out on the limb and make a completely wild prediction. In October the date will be pushed back another 4 to 6 months.

bigmclargehuge · PostApr 08, 2015#7692015-04-08T23:36+00:00

downtown2007 wrote:Date pushed back to Oct

http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-a ... touch=true

No surprise though hes not going anywhere

dbInSouthCity · PostApr 09, 2015#7702015-04-09T00:24+00:00

One thing evident here is that the city counselor is over his head.

roger wyoming II · PostApr 09, 2015#7712015-04-09T00:53+00:00

^ Part of it may be that the city didn't get its own services together in time like it said it would.

Greatest St. Louis · PostApr 09, 2015#7722015-04-09T01:02+00:00

roger wyoming II wrote:^ Part of it may be that the city didn't get its own services together in time like it said it would.

That was my understanding

downtown2007 · PostApr 09, 2015#7732015-04-09T01:53+00:00

dbInSouthCity wrote:One thing evident here is that the city counselor is over his head.

He defended and won the St Stanislaus case. He is quite capable.

Ebsy · PostApr 09, 2015#7742015-04-09T03:13+00:00

Anyone who beat Burke is a hero in my books.

True_dope · PostApr 09, 2015#7752015-04-09T04:36+00:00

another piece of the puzzle
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metr ... b368f.html

Larry Rice - New Life Evangelistic Center

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