Hope Center’s future on the line

Jim Barns Charlottesville
Published: April 2, 2008

This winter, Hope Community Center in the Tenth and Page neighborhood of Charlottesville has been nightly sheltering homeless men, women and children, something that the admirable People and Congregations En-gaged in Ministry program has been doing from October to March for the last three winters.
Hope was planned to be a year-round haven. Without it, 51 people (as of March 27) will be back on the street. The city zoning board will decide April 17. [Hope Community Center has been told that it is in violation of the city zoning ordinance.]
Dr. Harold Bare is the president of the Hope Community Foundation and the public ad-vocate for this service.
Lori-Ann Strait is the executive director of the Hope Foundation, and Josh Bare, Dr. Bare’s son, is the director of the center. Their coming forward to make a difference in the homelessness situation, which has gotten much publicity in recent years, is admirable.
Taking it a step further, Josh, on March 25, organized a workshop to help people learn how to prepare resumes and how to apply and present themselves for a job.
The homelessness situation is a challenge that our city government understandably does not want to be entangled in.
The efforts of private citizens and churches should be supported.
For the zoning board and City Council to reject the Hope Community Center as a haven for the homeless would be a terrible setback and would compound the hardships that these people face.
Such a decision so subject to an interpretation of rules comes down to individuals — either impersonal bureaucratic thinking or basic humanitarian values.
It was once said that you can judge a civilization by how it treats the people who are down and out.
If the public is allowed, I urge people to go to that hearing.