urbanSTL

If they are just leasing these apartments for these people, what legal obligation do they really have to notify the community who these people are or what problems they have had? If my next door neighbors asked their mentally ill sister to live with them....would they need to notify me about it?



I understand this is more than a few people and they are at least stepping up and telling the community about it, but is this also going to be some sort of registered facility? Or are these just apartments where these people live? If this is already qualified Sec 8 housing do they legally have to inform their neighbors about who these people are?



At least Larry Rice isn't involved.

Brew, no you don't have to notify anyone when a mentally ill individual moves in. They have a mental illness--they are not sex offenders. Many more people than you know qualify as being "mentally ill"--they have major depression, bipolar disorder, an anxiety disorder, or the like. These are individuals that suffer from mental illness, just like any other physical disorder, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.

Yes as a matter of fact I am going to tell them this. I dont have a problem that they are living there. It has more so to do with that 45 of them are living there. Like I said previously its way too concentrated and there are 44 other temptations one will have to avoid. Scatter them throughout, dont pile them up.

Saw just a sec of the report on News 4 last night at 10. Did anyone attend? I was working late and would have loved to of gotten over there. The News report spinned it positively I remember. Saying the DT partnership and Mayor Slay backed it. But the DT CID doesn't? What about the residents association?

I assume that the reason people are upset is that they weren't told about it. At least I hope...

Here's the link.



http://www.kmov.com/video/localnews-ind ... vid=334078

After watching the video, I just don't get why nearby residents are upset with this (and yes...I own a condo down the street).



It is an apartment building; they have NO legal obligation to tell you who they are allowing to live there (and pay rent), just because you live across the street. This is not a facility or care center, it's an apartment building where these people live. If there is an incident....call the police at that time. Just like in your building where YOU live. If these people are sex offenders they have to register with the city, if not they have no reason to tell their neighbors about their mental or physical histories. Maybe we should get all the names of the residents on Washington Ave and run them through the Police database and see how many of these people have felonies or previous legal problems. Then we should all have a meeting and yell about it; I bet that will fix everything.



The St Patrick's Center is doing a good thing here, and I am quite certain they understand the issues they may face. They will be under a microscope for the months to come which is very unfair.



I love how the end of the report stated that residents are requesting to be notified of future developments like this??? Its an apartment building....and you live nearby....did you not see the construction crew or signs when they built it?

Surprise....people may want to rent a unit in that building (watch out).

I have no way of knowing one way or another, but did opponents to this consider that the scrutiny these tenants go through is probably more than what the average tenant would face? Like I said, I don't know for sure, but SPC didn't get this reputation over the last 25 years without setting and maintaining high standards.



I admit I was initially concerned about the number of units, but as I said before, I have faith in St. Patrick Center's ability to manage this endeavor, and I believe these veterans deserve this opportunity. Hopefully opponents will come around so this can move forward.

I live across the street from the Washington Avenue Apartments. I'm really disappointed by the notion that many downtown dwellers are throwing fits about this program. St. Patrick's Center has shown for years that it knows how to run a good program that not only gives people jobs/helps them find jobs, but it also helps people acquire the skills they need to succeed. If residents don't think that veterans, of all people, are deserving of this kind of help under a supervised program, well that's just sad. That makes us "yuppie, entitled lofties" no better than those in Chesterfield or Ladue who don't want to "deal with that kind of riff-raff." When did we become the NIMBYs?



***** it. Full steam ahead, St. Pat's Center!

This is from the story dweebe linked to above, but I figured it was additionally worth posting. It's an outline of the program and I was pleased to see just how comprehensive and thought out the program is:



Project HERO



The Project HERO program is a partnership of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Missouri Department of Mental Health and St. Patrick Center. It began eight months ago in the Washington Avenue Apartments, 1133 Washington Avenue.



A participant must:



— Be an honorably discharged veteran. Men only.



— Undergo weekly drug testing.



— Pay 30 percent of income toward rent and utilities.



— Not possess alcohol on premises.



— Not have violent crime or sex offense convictions.



— Do daily morning check-ins in person or by phone with a staff member of St. Patrick Center.



— Not have overnight guests unless it is the tenant's minor child.



— Leave his Project HERO apartment after a maximum of two years.



About the building:



— Key card access 24 hours a day to track who is coming and going.



— Security cameras in hallways and common areas.



— No loitering outside the building. A courtyard not visible from the street is available for tenants. The building also has a community room and free use of laundry facilities.



— Apartments come with kitchens. There are no communal meals.



— A St. Patrick Center employee lives in the building.



— Frequent and random visits by a case manager, which includes a check for alcohol and drugs and proper upkeep of apartments.

At first I had my reservations about his deal. Project Hero seems to be legit. I wish it great success. As for the PD article, PD PLEASE get rid of the comment section! It's nothig but stereotypes.

Sounds like this Hero program is really well thought out.

The comments on STLToday are surprisingly positive. Sounds like a good program.

DeBaliviere wrote:The comments on STLToday are surprisingly positive. Sounds like a good program.

And people say there's no such thing as miracles.

Meteo wrote:This is from the story dweebe linked to above, but I figured it was additionally worth posting. It's an outline of the program and I was pleased to see just how comprehensive and thought out the program is:



Project HERO



The Project HERO program is a partnership of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Missouri Department of Mental Health and St. Patrick Center. It began eight months ago in the Washington Avenue Apartments, 1133 Washington Avenue.



A participant must:



— Be an honorably discharged veteran. Men only.



— Undergo weekly drug testing.



— Pay 30 percent of income toward rent and utilities.



— Not possess alcohol on premises.



— Not have violent crime or sex offense convictions.



— Do daily morning check-ins in person or by phone with a staff member of St. Patrick Center.



— Not have overnight guests unless it is the tenant's minor child.



— Leave his Project HERO apartment after a maximum of two years.



About the building:



— Key card access 24 hours a day to track who is coming and going.



— Security cameras in hallways and common areas.



— No loitering outside the building. A courtyard not visible from the street is available for tenants. The building also has a community room and free use of laundry facilities.



— Apartments come with kitchens. There are no communal meals.



— A St. Patrick Center employee lives in the building.



— Frequent and random visits by a case manager, which includes a check for alcohol and drugs and proper upkeep of apartments.

Thanks for posting this here. If this doesn't assuage the doubters I'm not sure what will. This sounds like a great program that is consistent with the excellent track record that St. Patrick Center has had over the last 26 years, and I believe it deserves the community's support.

Moorlander wrote:As for the PD article, PD PLEASE get rid of the comment section! It's nothig but stereotypes.

I agree. I'm glad that a few more enlightened people have weighed in on this topic per se, but I cannot bear to read those comments most of the time. If it's any consolation, though, most newspapers have comments sections following stories and opinion pieces these days, and every city has its share of rubes. I read the online editions of the Kansas City Star and Springfield News-Leader often to check out news on the other side of Missouri, and despite the incredible progress that's been made in Missouri's three largest cities in this decade, the comments on those websites are every bit as ignorant as those on the Post-Dispatch website.

Moorlander wrote:At first I had my reservations about his deal. Project Hero seems to be legit. I wish it great success. As for the PD article, PD PLEASE get rid of the comment section! It's nothig but stereotypes.

I can personally guarantee that the HERO project is legit. A good friend of mine started this program last August at SPC and is currently the Substance Abuse Counselor for the program. They have already seen tremendous success since the start of the program and hope to continue on this path in the future. Needless to say she is quite dismayed by the negative outburst and the subsequent press this has generated.

a plan by St. Patrick Center to lease 45 of the 95 apartment units at the Washington Avenue Apartments for placement of 45 chronically homeless veterans with chemical dependency, mental illness, or both.

This is the type of comment that, without context, really gets people going.

This whole "uproar" was started by 4 or 5 "concerned" businessmen who somehow thought we all agreed. The email was very inflammatory and designed to cause knee-jerk reactions. In my opinion we the "loft dwellers" ended up being cast in a negative light because of these actions.

We all realize that homelessness is an issue in our neighborhood but how ironic is our response to the one effective organization, SPC that is implementing a nationally-proven program to benefit everyone. Would you rather have the homeless in our neighborhood on the streets, or on a course toward getting their lives back. We should support SPC in EVERY way possible. Homelessness was an issue when we all purchased, is an issue now, and will be an issue unless we take steps like these!

^ Yeah, I was disappointed that these businessmen manipulated the system to make downtown residents look uncaring. I would have gone to the meeting and defended the program, but I had a conflict with graduate school. Did any resident speak in defense of the program?

I've seen season five of The Wire. Great series.



I see the parallel you're drawing between the Balt Sun and the Dispatch. Interesting, but perhaps stretching it a bit.

Meeting This Tuesday night--



Hello Neighbor,



We will discuss the next steps in developing a relationship with St. Patrick's Center, the City of St. Louis, and the Residents of Downtown St. Louis. Your voices were heard. An action plan has been developed by your neighbors. Come to St. Patrick's Center Tuesday March 10 7pm- 8:30 to help shape the future discussions about issues that are very important to our neighborhood. This will be a very informative and important step in our voices being heard. Join us to guarantee our actions have standing with the city. We are a neighborhood that cares about ALL our neighbors!





Public Meeting Details



Location: St. Patrick Center, 800 N. Tucker (just north of Washington)



Time: 7:00 – 830



Date: Tuesday, March 10th



Topic: Next steps related to St. Patrick’s project HERO at the Washington Avenue Apartments, including a report from the newly formed residents and retailers steering committee.



Moderator: Jeff Rainford

Again, this shows the class of the St. patrick center...and the difference between them and NLEC. If this were a NLEC project, Larry would jam as many homeless people in there and say the hell with what anyone thinks. The folks at the St. patrick center really do want to be good neighbors.