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The Daily Tar Heel

Build the new shelter: Men’s shelter needs to move; proposed location works

Chapel Hill’s homeless shelter needs a new location — and residents opposed to the proposal should learn to embrace it.

The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service has proposed building a new community house at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Homestead Road.

The IFC has encountered opposition to the proposed relocation site from some nearby residents. But when all the discussions and hearings are finished, residents should accept the new community house at the proposed location.

Those opposed to the relocation have raised legitimate concerns. At the Town Council meeting on Oct. 19, some residents took issue with the proposed location’s close proximity to schools, Homestead Park and day cares.

They also took umbrage because the community house would add to a long list of social services already located in northwest Chapel Hill.

The IFC has registered these concerns. And Chris Moran, the organization’s executive director, said the IFC doesn’t want to move forward until IFC officials sit down with neighborhood leaders and explain the process.

Moran said there are a lot of misconceptions about the homeless community that need to be explained.

For example, concerned residents often cite how many crimes have been associated with 100 W. Rosemary St. — the current community house’s address. But Moran said that not everyone who lists the community house as their residence is staying at the house or even affiliated with the IFC.

Furthermore, contrary to another misconception about the homeless shelter population, the men who will be residing at the new location are there to improve their situation — not to stay indefinitely.

It’s understandable that some residents are concerned about the impact of relocating the homeless shelter. But it’s time for the shelter to have a new facility.

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