WORK SESSION of the Greenbelt City Council held Wednesday, January 10, 2007, for the purpose of receiving a briefing on homelessness.  

Mayor Davis started the meeting at 8:35 p.m. It was held in the Senior Classroom of the Community Center.  

PRESENT WERE: Councilmembers Leta M. Mach, Edward V.J. Putens, Rodney M. Roberts and Mayor Judith F. Davis. Councilmember Konrad E. Herling arrived at 8:50 p.m.  

STAFF PRESENT WERE: Michael P. McLaughlin, City Manager; Liz Park, Director, Greenbelt CARES; and Kathleen Gallagher, City Clerk.  

ALSO PRESENT WERE: Tim Jansen, Executive Director, Community Crisis Services, Inc.; Rev. Bobbi Troyer, Street Lights of Bethany; Marsha Voigt, Safe Haven; Mary Linstrom, Greenbelt Volunteer Social Services Coordinator; residents Barbara Havekost, Earl Babbit, and Bill Orleans; and Jim Giese, Greenbelt News Review.  

Following introductions, Mayor Davis said the reason for the briefing on homelessness was that a number of people had asked what the City could do and what Prince George’s County was doing to help. She asked Dr. Park to take over. Dr. Park thanked Mr. Jansen for coming. It was explained that as part of his job, he directs the Homeless Hotline and the Warm Nights program. He also took part in the Homeless Services Partnership planning for the county.  

Dr. Park reviewed the presentation made by Andrea Morris at the homelessness conference held in Greenbelt. She said about 80% of the homeless are “situationally homeless”—people who have lost a job or housing and whose problems may be reversible. The other 20% have major mental health and/or substance abuse issues. Their problems and situation may be chronic. She said people working for minimum wage are constantly on the verge of homelessness because of the lack of adequate affordable housing. Ms. Mach added that about 70% of the homeless are children.  

Mr. Jansen described the county’s services. There are three year-round shelters. There is transitional housing, with the goal of eventually moving people to market rent. He said for practical purposes, Section 8 housing has ended in this county, with 10,000 people on a waiting list for it. He noted that northern Virginia and Montgomery County are engaging in very aggressive affordable housing methods, but this county is not. The fact that Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing is no longer allowed in Prince George’s has had a very big impact on homelessness in the county, since many people could afford room rent who cannot afford to rent an apartment. He said the numbers of homeless just keep growing, and their medical issues are severe. He said that in Maryland, mental health assistance and drugs are easier to get than other forms of treatment. He said the county needs to get corporate presences like Macy’s and Home Depot to kick in.  

The Mayor said she had the impression that the county saw this problem coming but chose to ignore it. Mr. Jensen said that might be true but that, even without special services, people keep coming here because this county and parts of the District have the lowest housing costs. He said there is a big need for case managers in the county, who can work one-on-one with clients, knocking on doors and making connections. He said the faith community is doing a substantial amount, and the shelter programs cost them a great deal in both time and money. The Mayor asked if the “Mega Churches” were contributing enough. Mr. Jensen said they were contributing, but not enough, and that sometimes the help given comes with proselytizing. He said the need for child support enforcement is “huge.” Something else that could make a great difference is the creation of hubs in the county, including showers, computers, assistance with job applications, etc,, that would aid people in finding employment.  

Mr. Putens said this county is so big that he wondered if the situation might not be better dealt with by a smaller region—for example, by the Four Cities.  

Ms. Mach suggested updating the concept of SRO housing to “co-housing” to make it more acceptable. The Mayor said repackaging the concept was necessary, since, like pawn shops and billboards, SROs had gone the way of things that did not reflect the improved image the county wanted to present of itself.  

Mr. Herling commented that the National Alliance to End Homelessness says there are about 744,000 homeless in the country. He asked how many there are in the county. Mr. Jansen said last year the estimate was 1,400.  

Ms. Voigt described her experience in working with clients through Help-by-Phone and through Safe Haven, which she runs at Greenbelt Community Church. Rev. Troyer talked about her experience working with homeless people in this area, about 25 of whom she said she can contact at any given time. She said there are fewer in Greenbelt than there were a year ago. She said the biggest need in moving out of homelessness is an ability to do the paperwork to establish identity.  

There was some discussion of what Greenbelt was already doing. The Mayor said it would be very helpful to have a matrix or something else on paper to show what the City is doing and what next steps it might be appropriate to take. She said having a list of needs would be helpful. Mr. McLaughlin said he had already asked Dr. Park for strategic plans for CARES and GAIL in order to see how the various needs fit together. The Mayor said she’d also like to see something showing what the next immediate steps should be.  

The Mayor thanked everyone for coming and said this had been merely the beginning of the discussion. This part of the meeting ended at 10:20 p.m.

Other Business  

Mayor Davis said College Park Councilmember Bob Catlin had told her that in their agreements with developers regarding townhouses and condominiums, they are including conditions that a certain percentage of units must remain owner-occupied forever, with exceptions requiring approval of the City. She asked Mr. McLaughlin to determine how they are doing this.  

The Mayor also said that the Chesapeake Climate Action Network would be applying for recognition group status.  

The Mayor also asked Mr. Roberts what had occurred and what he had said regarding Greenbelt’s positions on Springhill Lake at the meeting of the County School Board regarding CIP funding. There was a good bit of discussion of this. The Mayor also asked if a letter could be drafted reiterating the City’s positions on the Springhill Lake development, which she would read at the public hearing to be held at Eleanor Roosevelt High School next week.  

The meeting ended at 10:50 p.m.  

Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Gallagher
City Clerk

City of Greenbelt, Maryland
City Offices, 25 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770
Phone: 301-474-8000 FAX: 301-441-8248