Latest news with #homelessshelter
The Independent
6 days ago
- General
- The Independent
‘Something … set him off': Mass stabbing at Orgon homeless shelter leaves 11 people injured
A mass stabbing at an Oregon homeless shelter sent 11 people to the hospital as officials said something set the suspect off before the attack. Police were called to the Union Gospel Mission in Salem, about an hour south of Portland, just after 7 p.m. Sunday following reports of a stabbing, police said. Victims suffered 'varying types of injuries' in the attack, and their conditions were unknown Monday morning, Angela Hendrick of the Salem Police Department said in a statement. Craig Smith, the executive director of the shelter, told NBC News the suspected attacker had just arrived at the facility the day before and was going to check in for a second night when he got into a fight. 'Something…set him off, and he evidently had a knife in his bag,' Smith said. The altercation happened just as the man was about to turn over his belongings and check in. At least one staff member working at the check-in desk was injured, Smith said. Bobby Epperly was on the second floor of the shelter when he said he saw the man screaming outside at traffic and holding a knife, the Salem Statesman Journal reported. 'It's like a horror movie,' said Epperly, 48. He said he didn't realize some people had already been stabbed inside the building until he went downstairs and saw 'blood everywhere.' Another witness, Malik Law, said he saw the man stab at least seven people. 'Everybody was basically trying to move out of his way,' Law said. 'He started attacking them.' Police have arrested the suspect but have not named the man. The shelter, a faith-based organization, houses upwards of 150 homeless men and provides support services, food, clothing, case management and counseling.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Small-town war erupts as church land is seized for pickleball: Bishop levels heinous claim against mayor
A legal war has broken out between a local church and pickleball enthusiasts over land development in New Jersey. The drama erupted on April 30 after the Toms River Township Council placed an ordinance to condemn 10 acres of land that is currently home to Christ Episcopal Church to build a new recreational area fit with pickleball court, soccer fields, and playground - among other attractions. Prior to the ordinance, the church congregation sought permission in July 2023 to use the land to build a 17 - bed homeless shelter to help the growing issue in the coastal town. Although governmental agencies have 'the right to condemn property for governmental purposes,' the township 'has never thought of this as a recreational site,' according to Harvey York, the attorney representing the church. 'For them to say they need recreational land flies in the face of the facts and their master plan,' York told Fox News. York and his legal team believe the town chose to make this move in response to the church's attempt to try and build a homeless shelter. 'It is clear that this is being done in retaliation for the church making an application for a homeless shelter,' he said, noting that there are constitutional protections for freedom and religion, along with the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. 'I don't know that you'll find a lawyer who will say, "Oh, yeah, they have every right to do this; they're going to win',' he told the outlet. Daniel Rodrick, the mayor of Toms River, has openly said that the timing of the town's request on the land is just a 'coincidence,' The New York Times previously reported. The ongoing legal battle has taken a toll on the community as locals are divided on who should get the land. Although York believes many are 'thrilled that the mayor is going to condemn the property,' a 'majority of the community is shocked and dismayed.' Bishop Sally J. French, who leads the diocese Christ Episcopal is under, is one of those who is furious about the conflict. According to French, the whole idea of the homeless shelter was 'actually a way to diminish the community concerns' of the growing population. From January 2023 to January 2024 the number of unhoused people has risen 28 percent in Ocean County, according to Monarch Housing Associates, a group that works to address homelessness across the Garden State. 'You've provided them with opportunities and the capacity to do what they need to do to get employment, to begin to contribute to the community in ways they haven't been able to do because of their difficult, painful circumstances,' she told the NYT. Other local religious leaders have all stood up for the church, including Rabbi William Gershon of Congregation B'nai Israel. 'I am outraged,' Gershon told the outlet. 'If you can do it to them, you can do it to any of us.' A petition has also been going around, urging concerned church goers and community members to stand up for the land. 'This action is unjust. It comes while the congregation is seeking municipal permission to build a homeless shelter on their property as an extension of the church's many ministries and programs that serve and support those in need in the Toms River community,' the page read. 'If the eminent domain ordinance goes forward, Toms River will lose a vital source of support for vulnerable residents. 'The church is not for sale. People matter more than Pickleball. We stand with Christ Episcopal Church, Toms River, New Jersey.' As of Monday afternoon, the petition accumulated more than 7,200 signatures. Others took to social media to voice their concerns and anger with the town trying to take over the land. One wrote: 'This is ridiculous! Pickleball comes before a place to help those in need?' 'Not kosher. This isn't kosher at all,' said another. Someone else commented: 'What an embarrassment....' In response to the backlash, Rodrick, a Republican, said his intention to build a recreational area on the land is all about managing priorities in his town. 'When you balance the hardships — you have a whole community without a park, and 65 or 70 people who could probably drive to a different location on a Sunday,' he said in reference to attending church. But, according to Bishop French, weekly attendance at Sunday services - offered in both English and Spanish - are more than twice the figure Rodrick claimed. 'As the guy who is supposed to look out for the welfare of all of the residents of Toms River, when you balance out those two things it's pretty clear which side I should be on.' Rodrick, a former teacher, said he is no stranger to political battles, adding: 'They fill the room and make a jerk out of me in the meeting and, like President Trump, my numbers just keep going up. The people are with me.' Litigation will continue to proceed, York said, adding: 'The plan will be decided by the diocese. But they certainly will litigate the issue, and I believe it will be successful.' He also said the local government should 'mind their own business and stay out of the religious affairs of the community.'
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A Church Wants a Homeless Shelter. The Mayor Wants Space for Pickleball.
Leaders of Christ Episcopal Church in Toms River, N.J., were preparing for a Cinco de Mayo festival late one night when the news began to spread: The mayor planned to use eminent domain to seize their church and its 11 acres of land. Under his plan, the church, which was founded in 1865, would be replaced by 10 pickleball courts, a soccer field and a playground with a nautical theme, according to an engineer's drawing. The first vote by the Township Council, Toms River's governing board, was the next afternoon. The proposal represented a curious new twist in an ongoing battle in the large Jersey Shore community. An affordable housing nonprofit that rents space from the church had asked to create a small homeless shelter on the very land the mayor now wanted to turn into a park. The request was unpopular with neighbors, and the organization was awaiting approval from a zoning board. The mayor, Daniel T. Rodrick, called the timing a 'coincidence.' But opponents have condemned the park plan as a thinly disguised way to block the shelter. The effort to buy or take the land is all but certain to face legal challenges. But it has unleashed an emotional debate over property rights, religious liberty and the limits of a community's responsibility to care for poor people at a time when the Trump administration is making deep cuts to safety-net programs that provide emergency food and housing. 'I am outraged,' said Rabbi William Gershon of Congregation B'nai Israel, a conservative synagogue that has been in Toms River for 75 years. 'If you can do it to them, you can do it to any of us.' Rabbi Gershon said members of the town's interfaith council were united in their opposition to the effort, which he considers an attempt to use 'political levers to cudgel a community, almost vindictively.' With a population of nearly 100,000, Toms River is one of New Jersey's largest communities and is within 15 miles of some of the state's most desirable Atlantic Ocean beaches. As property values have soared, coastal motels that once offered inexpensive lodging and seasonal work have been replaced in many Jersey Shore towns by multimillion-dollar homes, straining an already limited supply of affordable housing. According to one estimate, the number of homeless residents in the region has doubled since the pandemic. Tent encampments have sprung up as makeshift housing, forcing uncomfortable conversations about how to address homelessness in a largely affluent region of the state. A Township Council meeting three weeks ago where the proposal to take Christ Episcopal's land was discussed publicly for the first time was long and contentious. Speakers shared personal stories of homelessness, addiction and redemption. Councilmen opposed to the seizure invoked the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, suggesting he would have supported it, too. 'You hate God? You hate Christ? Obviously you hate humanity,' a councilman shouted at a councilwoman. 'Why don't you pipe down,' she shouted back. The proposal authorizing the township to take the church property passed during the meeting, 4 to 3, in a preliminary vote. A final vote on the measure could take place as early as next Wednesday. Mr. Rodrick, a Republican, said the church and its land figured prominently in his vision for opening up access to the river that the township is named for. He would prefer to buy the land (he estimates it's worth $4 million) but is prepared to seize it, if necessary. He also hopes to take several other waterfront parcels and build a tiki bar and jet ski rental hub. The church property, he said, presents 'a great opportunity for parking, for recreation.' Its owner, the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, has stated unequivocally that the property is not for sale, and its rector has made clear the church is 'prepared for a long court fight to protect our congregation and property from this egregious land grab.' Christ Episcopal is one of the largest and most active of the diocese's roughly 135 churches, according to Bishop Sally J. French, who leads the diocese. Razing it would also endanger the more than 20 programs it offers as part of a commitment to what Bishop French calls 'gospel justice,' including 12-step addiction meetings and a weekly food pantry. The Affordable Housing Alliance, a nonprofit that rents office space on the property, requested permission from township zoning officials to build a 17-bed shelter there months ago. The church supports the plan, but many residents of a neighborhood that would be nearest to the shelter do not. Edward F. Bezdecki, a lawyer who lives near the church and is trying to block the shelter, said he was concerned about the housing alliance's screening processes and where shelter residents might go during the daytime hours. 'What do they do?' he asked. 'They're wandering around the neighborhood. Are they burglars? Were they in jail for burglary? Are they pedophiles?' The bishop said that providing shelter was 'actually a way to diminish the community concerns.' 'You've provided them with opportunities and the capacity to do what they need to do to get employment, to begin to contribute to the community in ways they haven't been able to do because of their difficult, painful circumstances,' she said. Mr. Rodrick, who became mayor last year, initiated the eminent domain effort three weeks before the zoning board was set to vote on whether to allow the shelter to operate in a residential area. A decision is expected on Thursday. He described his intention to create a park on the church land as a matter of priorities. 'When you balance the hardships — you have a whole community without a park, and 65 or 70 people who could probably drive to a different location on a Sunday' to attend church, Mr. Rodrick said in an interview. (Bishop French said weekly attendance at Sunday services, which are offered in English and in Spanish, was more than twice that figure.) 'As the guy who is supposed to look out for the welfare of all of the residents of Toms River, when you balance out those two things,' the mayor said, 'it's pretty clear which side I should be on.' The controversy appears to have little to do with traditional party politics. In a state controlled by Democrats, Toms River and the surrounding county are conservative strongholds. Republicans hold most local offices and dominate elected boards. Still, three Republican councilmen spoke out strenuously against the mayor's eminent domain resolution before voting against it, calling it hardhearted and plainly intended to circumvent the shelter. The mayor, a former schoolteacher, said that he was used to being challenged by his political rivals after spirited battles in the last year over control of an animal shelter, declining police staffing levels and a redevelopment plan he scuttled. 'They fill the room and make a jerk out of me in the meeting and, like President Trump, my numbers just keep going up,' he said. 'The people are with me.' Even Republicans who agree the church property might not be the ideal location for a shelter have warned that the eminent domain battle is likely to expose the township to a protracted and costly legal fight. 'It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, and I think it sets a bad precedent,' said Maurice Hill, Toms River's previous mayor, who lost to Mr. Rodrick in a Republican primary. While seizing a church might sound unusual, David Schleicher, a professor of property and urban law at Yale Law School, said that religious institutions had no broad federal protections from eminent domain. Showing that a government entity acted vindictively could provide a defense, he said, but that can be hard to prove. 'The history of eminent domain is the history of government doing things for questionable purposes,' Professor Schleicher said. Other legal scholars have noted that constitutional arguments centered on religious liberty are often more effective than those that hinge on land-use law. Quirks of the New Jersey Constitution might also provide Christ Episcopal with an added layer of protection. 'New Jersey courts tend to dig a little deeper than the federal courts,' said Ronald K. Chen, a former dean of Rutgers Law School who also served as the state's public advocate. 'But there's no guarantee they will reach a different result.' Opponents of the seizure appear aware that the church's best strategy might be winning in the court of public opinion before any legal wrangling begins. Affordable housing advocates and a formerly homeless man who founded the online interview series Portraits of the Jersey Shore held a rally on Saturday that drew scores of protesters. Christ Episcopal's choir director, Polly Moore, said parishioners were buying church T-shirts to wear in solidarity to the Township Council's meeting next Wednesday, when the eminent domain ordinance could win final approval. Ms. Moore, 75, first joined the choir in 1959 with her siblings and parents, whose cremated remains are interred in a memorial garden on the church's property. 'I'm horrified that he would have the audacity to try to do something like this with such a thriving, vibrant church,' Ms. Moore said of the mayor. Mr. Rodrick said he was confident that most other residents supported his plan. He claimed a poll of about 400 residents taken after the first vote authorizing the use of eminent domain showed him with 66 percent support. Asked which company had conducted the poll, he said he had done it himself. 'I didn't get here by accident,' he said. 'It's a combination of wanting to do the right thing and knowing what you're doing.'
CBC
14-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
'Out of control': Downtown Windsor councillor urges city to rethink shelter locations
Social Sharing More than a year after the City of Windsor unveiled a sweeping plan to revitalize the downtown core, violent crime and open drug use remain a serious problem, according to the councillor who represents the area. "In the past three days, I've witnessed a street brawl, multiple blocks of cars getting scratched, people chasing down those people that allegedly scratched all the cars," said Ward 3's Renaldo Agostino during Monday's city council meeting. The frustrated councillor urged the city to produce a report on the recommendation that a new homeless shelter be located within a two-kilometre radius of the city's centre, as well as the placement of shelters more broadly. "We need to do something in our downtown core in regards to some of the situations that are happening because of these shelters," he said. "What we're doing right now clearly is not working." Agostino's comments come as Windsor stares down the threat of further economic turmoil should U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs — particularly those affecting the auto industry — continue to result in job losses. But even before Trump was elected to a second term, the city was searching for a spot to build its new Homelessness and Housing Help Hub, known as H4. WATCH | In December, the city said it will continue its search for a future H4 location: City of Windsor announces it'll look elsewhere for future H4 location 5 months ago Duration 2:13 The current H4 facility, which opened as a response to pandemic-related closures, sits in the former Water World building just east of Ouellette Avenue. The city has described using the old aquatic centre as a "make-do" situation in a building that "fails on many fundamental levels of functionality." A 2022 report to council said the new facility "will still require close proximity to emergency shelters, health-care providers, harm reduction pharmacies, in addition to other core community agencies." WATCH | 'It isn't working': Downtown councillor seeks review of shelter location guidelines: 'It isn't working:' Downtown Windsor councillor seeks review of shelter location guidelines 21 hours ago Duration 2:43 One year since the City of Windsor launched its Strengthen the Core plan, downtown councillor Renaldo Agostino is expressing frustration with the state of his ward. He's questioning why homelessness services need to be within two kilometres of the downtown area. CBC's Dalson Chen spoke with the executive director of the Downtown Mission and one of the service's clients — Andre W. Two kilometres was cited by "participants, staff and service providers [...] as the desired distance for the average participant to be able to travel on foot to seek resources, which are primarily located within the boundaries of Ward 3," the report said. Agostino questioned that distance while speaking to reporters after Monday's meeting. "Why is there a two-kilometre radius on this? We should not be in neighbourhoods," he said. "We should not be in business areas. This should not be in a place where we're trying to lift up the area." Earlier during the meeting, Agostino argued those who use shelters or drug treatment centres in the downtown core are "sitting ducks for predators looking to take advantage of those who need the help," referencing drug dealers who he says park outside service centres. Agostino also said the city is spending millions "to try and manage issues that clearly have been out of control." "There is no question [that] downtown Windsor is doing the heavy lifting not just for the city, but for the entire region when it comes to homelessness, mental health and addictions issues," he said. Distance to health-care providers Rukshini Ponniah-Goulin, executive director of the Downtown Mission, said her organization needs to be "relatively close" to other service providers, such as the hospital and Canadian Mental Health Association. "When it's further away from shelters, other organizations, the individuals in shelter then can't get to those services as easily. Perhaps they can't get there at all," she said. "If they aren't able to get, you know, a bus or cab […] that sometimes stops them from moving out of shelter." One man who's staying at the Downtown Mission declined to give his full name, but said that problems with open-air drug use and crime would simply follow any new homeless help facility if the city isn't proactive about preventing problems. The man, who's from Florida and arrived in Windsor roughly two months ago, said a larger facility like H4 that provides housing and wraparound services would be helpful, but recommended it be enclosed — and clients be checked in so they aren't wandering the streets. Guelph shelter comparison? Agostino, in his remarks Monday, pointed to another city — Guelph — as a place where officials are looking at moving some shelter services outside the downtown core. However, Guelph's mayor says that's not the whole story. "That's not exactly accurate," Cam Guthrie told CBC Radio's Windsor Morning host Amy Dodge. "We feel that there is a gap in services between the overnight shelter where people are staying versus what's happening during the daytime." Guthrie says they're exploring an additional daytime shelter, but they're also mindful of where it goes in the event someone wants to bring it to the downtown, an area he says is already home to a lot of services and institutions surrounding homelessness. He says the city could put forth a recommendation that includes a geographical area where it doesn't want the shelter to end up. The issue is expected to be discussed at a meeting later this month, according to Guthrie. "I want our downtown cores to be our centre of commerce, entrepreneurial, event, tourism and attraction and the heartbeat for our downtown [...] and not continue to add to social services," Guthrie said. WATCH | Here's what some folks on Windsor's streets want you to know about homelessness: Here's what some folks on Windsor's streets want you to know about homelessness 3 months ago Duration 2:18 Guelph Coun. Erin Caton, who represents Ward 1, said there aren't any plans to move existing social services from the downtown core. "I couldn't even imagine trying to bar churches from being in the downtown and offering services that they offer," she said. "Seems a bit silly to me. We actually have quite a lot of services in our downtown." Caton also said she believes Agostino was referring to Guelph's plans regarding the new daytime shelter service, which would include showers, washrooms, storage and more. She said a range of people use those types of services, including seniors or even people who can't afford air conditioning, for which some landlords now charge extra. "At core, these are meal services and these are community spaces for people to come and chat up other people," Caton said. "So it's not one type of person that's using this, unless you consider poverty a type of person, right? It's just people who need food and need community." Poverty, Caton said, is the core issue — and municipalities are being forced "to put band aids on things that are provincial issues." Cities need funding for housing — which has become unaffordable for many people on disability — as well as substance abuse and mental health programs, she said. "So unless we're willing to really put in the resources to help solve poverty, then we're going to get crime, we're going to get everything else because people don't have any choices," she said. 'Greater variety' of downtown housing needed Dorian Moore, a local architect and urban planner, said sufficient housing — and "a greater variety" of it — could be key to driving "the demand for other amenities within the downtown," as was the case across the river in Detroit. "You get those initial groups of people down there and they create the framework and the mindset that downtown is a place to be," he said. "Downtown is a place that's cool." WATCH | Is Windsor's downtown plan working?: Is Windsor's downtown plan working? 20 hours ago Duration 3:10 CBC's Jennifer La Grassa speaks with architect and urban designer Dorian Moore about Windsor's downtown revitalization plan one year after it was endorsed by council. Moore agreed that Windsor should address homelessness and related issues, but lead with efforts to attract people to the city's core – not focus on removing others. "The missing ingredient, even though it's touched on in the plan, is what are we going to do to physically enhance the downtown and make it something that we can be proud of. And we want to bring people to the downtown, which I think is important," he said. Windsor's council said it hoped to have the report Agostino requested back before the next meeting on May 26.
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Church fights New Jersey town over plans to seize property and turn it into park
A Christian church is fighting a New Jersey town for attempting to seize their property, alongside other land, and turn it into a waterfront park. Christ Episcopal Church is fighting plans from Toms River, NJ officials to seize their church property, alongside three other town marinas, as part of the township's plans to revitalize the downtown community. Bishop Sally French, in a letter to parishioners, told churchgoers that on April 30, about a day before a scheduled town meeting, officials were alerted by a concerned community member that the church's property had been "added to a proposal for an eminent domain ordinance." The church, which has been a part of the community for 160 years, says the action comes amid trying to build a homeless shelter on their property. "As a Christian leader and a resident of New Jersey, I am troubled by the township's move to block the faithful ministry of Christ Church and their care for those in need, and I am saddened that the mayor and township council are prioritizing pickleball courts over responding to hunger and homelessness," Bishop Sally French said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "I ask that Toms River lift the burden these proceedings have placed on our parish and diocese, and I pray that we can move forward in serving our neighbors." Republican Mayor Rodrick told Fox News Digital he feels the plan is in the best interest of the constituents because children do not have a playground in the immediate area. The town ordinance allows officials to enter into negotiations to secure the areas or acquire them by eminent domain should the church not want to sell the property. "We have about 20,000 residents, 5,000 households within a stone's throw of the Episcopal church," he said. "The property is very large, it's a 10-acre parcel and has a tremendous amount of parking and the parking, we would never be allowed to make that much parking on a property that size anymore. It would be very difficult... so it would be great for the kids in the local area and the families in that area to have a park that they can walk to with their kids and a playground. We're also interested in doing a skate park there." Rodrick argued that the project, which he believes would benefit both residents and businesses, is part of a larger plan to "redevelop downtown" and make it more of a "destination" for residents. The agenda would "enhance business downtown" by bringing more customers to the area. He also spoke to Fox News Digital about how he is proud of his budget as mayor, explaining they were "DOGE before DOGE was cool" as they cut the budget from $146 million to $135 million. The Episcopalian church has a different take on the matter, with the bishop offering her full support to the community church. "The people of Christ Episcopal Church have my support and gratitude for their Gospel ministry of feeding the hungry and providing shelter to unhoused people," she said. "Jesus tells us to care for the poor and vulnerable as we would care for him, and the people of Christ Church are putting that commandment into action." Should the town acquire the property, Rodrick says the church would have time to purchase another property or may choose to consolidate churches according to the church leader's digression, pointing to there possibly being a silver lining to consolidation for the church due to the high value of the property compared to liabilities. "Nationwide, the Episcopal church is in steep decline. I think they lost 40,000 members last year. A lot of these Protestant churches have seen big decreases in membership. They still have a lot of these legacy costs and pensions for their pastors that they need to make payments on and it costs a lot of money. So, if you have 75 people put $10 in, and you bring in $3,000 a month, do you know what it must cost to heat a 20,000-square-foot church? So, they could probably benefit from some consolidation and many of the smaller Protestant denominations are doing that." The church is standing alongside "approximately 150 church members, community members, clergy" and others in their fight against the ordinance, according to the website. "Christ Church Toms River is a vital resource in the community," Mother Lisa Hoffman, rector of Christ Church in Toms River, told Fox News Digital. "Our outreach includes nearly 20 12-step meetings per week. While the members of Christ Church are disappointed with this situation, we are determined to protect our Gospel ministry." As for next steps, the council has already voted four to three and "anticipates" it will pass for a second time four to three, according to the mayor.
