A man bundled in a blanket waits outside the Hub City Mission shelter on Friday, Dec. 16, in downtown Centralia.
The Centralia Police Department recently held a meeting with agencies and organizations that provide services to the homeless population in the Twin Cities to help compile a list of resources they can use to assist people seeking help.
The Wednesday meeting at the Centralia Train Depot included many agencies that partner with United Way of Lewis County.
“It was held to get a better idea of what services are out there, the organizations’ limitations and to get everyone in the room at one time,” Centralia Police Chief Carl Nielsen said.
The issue of homelessness has been a recurring topic at Centralia City Council meetings after several business owners expressed concerns about what they called a growing homeless population and list of problems it poses to their businesses.
The topic received even more attention after Jerry Allen Grimm, 57, died of hypothermia in Centralia’s Rotary Riverside Park in December, causing some organizations to step up their efforts to distribute more resources.
One of those organizations was Open Arms. The group, which communicates over Facebook, stapled warm clothing to trees, but they were later removed by the city. The experience helped open other opportunities for the group.
In a Facebook post, the group said they were honored to be invited to the meeting.
“In closing, we have all agreed that future meetings are needed to really brainstorm and come together,” according to the Facebook post. “Will we solve the issue of homelessness? No, but will we continue to educate ourselves and others, yes.”
The list will allow the police department to point homeless individuals in the right direction if they ask for help. It will also be shared with the court, which often deals with the same people, Nielsen said.
The most interesting part of the meeting, according to Nielsen, was the conversations between the organizations themselves as they learned what others provide for services.
“They were becoming resources for each other,” he said. “It was a really good dialogue.”
The complaints coming into the police department this winter were focused more on the downtown area since that is where the cold weather shelter is located. The Hub City Mission was open for a record number of nights as the area experienced colder than normal temperatures. Now, with warmer weather, Nielsen said the complaints haven’t really diminished, but they are coming from different areas, like near the parks where the individuals can find shade.
The issue of homelessness is not unique to the area, Nielsen said, adding it has been a problem in the communities he worked in previously.
“We’re ultimately working toward the question that comes from the public and that you hear at council meetings: What are we going to do?” Nielsen said. “If I had the answer to that I would be a gazillionaire because it’s a nationwide issue.”
Compiling the list provides a step in the right direction for ensuring those the police department comes across in the streets know where to go for assistance.
“You can’t run them out of town. They’re part of our community, too, whether you like it or not,” he said. “They are here, so we need to figure out how to deal with them.”
