Safe Haven

An eight-year struggle ended yesterday, when Carroll officials cut a red ribbon to signal the official opening of Safe Haven, a multipurpose homeless shelter in Westminster. The $1.2 million facility, which opened to residents about a month ago, houses three programs - a long-term home for mentally ill men and women, a temporary home for men and a cold-weather shelter that will be open between November and April. Carroll officials said they are not sure how large the county's homeless population is. The old Safe Haven served 373 people last year, and all but two of the 33 available beds in the new building are occupied.

An article in yesterday's Carroll County edition of The Sun should have reported that 91 percent of those served at Safe Haven, a Westminster homeless shelter, had lived in the county a year or more.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 10/23/97

Although the county commissioners have agreed to help finance construction of a homeless shelter in Westminster, they have asked Safe Haven officials to seek in-kind donations to make the project a reality. Faced with $123,302 in unexpected expenses, the commissioners have directed county staff to pare costs. The three-member board agreed unanimously to put off applying for a state grant until changes are made. "Perhaps we could use some of the equipment we currently have or get equipment from other facilities, instead of buying everything new," said Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge.

Carroll County commissioners agreed yesterday to move forward with plans to build a homeless shelter in Westminster. State and county officials are expected to share equally the cost of the 33-bed facility, which will be built on Stoner Avenue near the Safe Haven homeless shelter. The project is expected to cost about $930,800. "We're very happy to be moving forward," said Jolene Sullivan, county director of citizen services. "We hope to have the new shelter open in October or November 2001."

Westminster residents urged the Board of County Commissioners last night to reconsider its decision to build a shelter on South Center Street and called for a new approach to dealing with the homeless in the downtown area.Most people expressed sympathy for the plight of the homeless but said a residential neighborhood near Main Street is not an appropriate location for a shelter that would house people with substance abuse problems and mental illnesses."The street people are becoming increasingly aggressive and are disrespectful of public and private property," Laurie Walters said at last night's public hearing, which drew about 130 people to the Senior Activities Center on Stoner Avenue.

An article in yesterday's Carroll County edition of The Sun should have reported that 91 percent of those served at Safe Haven, a Westminster homeless shelter, had lived in the county a year or more.The Sun regrets the error.As Carroll County and Westminster officials wrangle over where to build a homeless shelter, some merchants and residents say the issue has opened an old wound -- problems with indigents in the downtown business district.The County Commissioners plan to move the Safe Haven shelter from the 200 block of Stoner Ave. beside the Westminster Senior Activities Center, but city residents have opposed two proposed sites -- on Center Street near the county administration building and at city-owned property on Goodwin's Quarry Road.

Kudos to City Council President Jack Young for admitting that there are "so many other important programs and services which lack much needed support in the city" than the Baltimore Grand Prix ("Young urges mayor to end Grand Prix," Jan. 12). The city can start with the recreation centers that supply a safe haven for learning and recreational activities for our vulnerable youth. Youngsters need these outlets and exposure to better things than hanging out on the corners. The centers are supported by their communities, their schools, churches and local families.

Carroll County broke ground yesterday on a $1.2 million homeless shelter in Westminster, a much-needed project that has taken eight years to reach fruition. Safe Haven has made "a long journey from concept to concrete," said Jeanette Berger, associate director of the county's Human Services Programs Inc. "Three levels of government have come together to make this possible, sharing in the planning and the financing," said Stephen G. Mood, executive director of HSP, a nonprofit corporation that operates several homeless programs under contract with the county.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Meet Jean-Renal Cabral: 38-year-old pick-and-hoe subsistence farmer, soft-spoken but proud father of six and No. 1 U.S. foreign policy problem.His dream -- multiplied by thousands like it -- is a U.S. government nightmare: "I was headed for Florida because I knew it would be a better life and I could have a job and make it possible to bring the rest of my family."Mr. Cabral, traveling with his 2-year-old son Robinson, was one of several hundred boat people repatriated to Haiti last week via a Caribbean odyssey of rickety boats, U.S. Coast Guard cutters and long days of waiting at the crowded U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The Westminster Common Council approved last night giving the county $60,000 to help finance the construction of Safe Haven's proposed homeless shelter in Westminster. The gift was in response to last week's determination by county commissioners that county taxpayers would have to pay for $123,302 in extra costs for the $877,250 project, and ordered county staff to pare costs and seek in-kind donations. The actual shortfall is $148,000, which includes the cost of constructing a parking lot, according to Jolene Sullivan, director for the department for citizen services for Carroll County.