Many Starke County residents are experiencing housing insecurity every day, but currently the resources they need can only be found outside the county. That’s according to Matt Ohime, the pastor of Davis Wesleyan Church who’s spearheading the effort to organize a Starke County Resource Center.
“Based on the best research I have at my hands so far, it is our understanding that there are 61 people in any given night in Starke County that would be termed ‘homeless’ or have housing insecurity year-round,” Ohime told a group of more than 30 prospective volunteers and donors Monday.
He said Starke County currently has residents who go elsewhere to access resources, which, he says, can make it harder for them to successfully get back on their feet.
The Starke County Resource Center seeks to fill that gap. Plans call for a facility that would offer bunk beds, laundry facilities, showers, meals, a community room, and access to outside resources. The goal is to house 12 people at any given time.
Ohime said individuals would have to go through a strict intake process, which could involve background checks, metal detector scans, a breathalyzer test, and proof of their connections to Starke County. “I want to be clear, first and foremost, that it’s for Starke County residents. This is not for nomads,” he said.
Individuals would also have to obey a curfew, complete their share of the chores, and follow up with resource providers. Specifics would still have to be worked out, but Ohime said women and young children may be housed in a separate area from men.
But the proposal has drawn concern from neighbors who aren’t too happy with the idea of a homeless shelter being placed nearby. The Starke County Resource Center has been offered the Knights of Columbus building at 503 East Lake Street, which would require permission from the Knox Board of Zoning Appeals. Ohime says the group is also open to other options, although Mayor Dennis Estok says the idea of using the former Moose Lodge is off the table.
Ohime stressed that the Resource Center wants to be a good neighbor to the surrounding community. “We see the Starke County Resource Center as meeting human beings where they are with dignity and service,”Ohime added. “No human being deserves to be met with indignity. And no human being is so far gone that they don’t deserve our service.”
He felt that solving Starke County’s housing challenges would require a community-wide solution, but the Resource Center would serve as a starting point.
