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In defense of the Open Shelter
by A Concerned Citizen
April 10, 2002

Dear Editor:

The Community Shelter Board is finally getting its way in its mission to finally close down the Open Shelter. The Executive Director, Barbara Poppe, representing only the interests of the downtown elites and power-brokers has convinced City Council that the Open Shelter is not deserving of further funding. The Open Shelter was denied their request for $450,000 from the Shelter Board to keep its operation open. All this in spite of the fact that the Open Shelter continues to run at capacity providing safe over night stays to over a hundred men a night.

The Community Shelter Board was formulated around 1985 to funnel money from the city, the county and the United Way into agencies, which provide shelter. Another reason was to keep the vocal and “annoying” Open Shelter and Friends of the Homeless from chronically showing up begging for money. The Board started with a director and a secretary. Since the hiring of Barbara Poppe around 1992 the Community Shelter’s staff has swelled to over 12 and their operating budget is over a million dollars. It now regulates all shelter operations in the county, which takes money from them. The threat of being de-funded has pretty much silenced most criticism from shelter organizations for the fear of losing favor and funding from Poppe.

The Shelter Czarina carries a heavy hand and abides by the wishes and desires of the downtown “dynamos” while carrying the facade of advocating for the poor and homeless through a smokescreen called “Rebuilding Lives Project” This project is really “the final solution” to close the Open Shelter and get rid of that pesky and opinionated Director, Kent Beittel.

Poppe has had Beittel in her sights since she came to Columbus from Cincinnati in the late 1980’s to become the Director of the Friends of the Homeless. It is ironic that the execution of the Open Shelter from lack of funding comes directly from someone who calls herself a friend and advocate of the homeless.

No one will be surprised to see Poppe trotted out by the likes of the Wolfes, the Lazarus’s and the Schottensteins to run for some office. The question will be which party will she run with. But then again, in Columbus, it doesn’t matter what party you are, its who bought you.

With the “cleaning up” of downtown, the re-gentrification of the Westside Bottoms, the renovation of Vets Memorial and the building of the COSI monstrosity downtown “leaders” have been pressuring the politicos to close the Open Shelter so good clean people no longer have to see the disheveled street people in mass downtown.

It will prove to be a bad government policy that will only make homelessness more prevalent downtown and increases the risk these vulnerable people have with getting arrested and harassed by the police. When will Columbus’s media turn a much needed light on the operation of the Community Shelter Board and its Director? Her strong-armed bullying tactics pleases her benefactors but only serves to make the most destitute on our streets more miserable and abandoned. It is past time the shelter advocates and agencies speak up against this iron fist wrapped in what is supposed to be charity.

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