Food was served and blankets were ready to be distributed to homeless people on the busy sidewalk outside New Life Evangelistic Center in downtown St. Louis early Sunday evening.
But for the first time in more than 40 years, the facility could not provide them with shelter, after being served a cease-and-desist notice by city officials ordering the building to be cleared of occupants by 5 p.m.
“It’s sad. Real sad,” said the shelter’s operator, the Rev. Larry Rice. “All these empty beds that people could be in.”
With the doors closed behind him, Rice vowed to spend the night — and possibly the next few nights — sleeping outside the facility with homeless people who had once slept inside. Rice said a circuit court judge is scheduled to address an appeal Wednesday by the shelter — the largest in the city — seeking to resume operation.
As staff members helped clear people and supplies from the building Sunday, Rice and allies of the shelter spent more than two hours at an afternoon rally inside. Speakers shared stories about the organization’s assistance for homeless people, drug addicts and others in need, while blasting the city’s action to shut its doors. Those in attendance were urged to help drum up votes for Rice, who is running as an independent mayoral candidate in Tuesday’s election.
“The spirit of wanting to put a padlock on the door of this shelter, that’s demonic,” said Zaki Baruti of the Universal African People’s Organization.
But city officials maintain that neighbors have cited the shelter as a nuisance that attracts crime and occasionally violence.
“This is really brought about by neighbors fed up with the conditions in and around his shelter and (Rice’s) inaction to do anything about it,” said Maggie Crane, communications director for the mayor’s office. “There were a whole lot of allegations, frankly, that were substantiated in court.”
The city has also charged the facility with violations including chronic over-occupancy and operating without a permit since May 2015.
“Furthermore, NLEC has refused repeated offers to join the robust Continuum of Care, a network of 70 service providers that administer services, housing, and most of all dignity for people experiencing homelessness,” the city said in an online post summarizing its saga with the shelter.
But Rice was dismissive of many of the disputes on Sunday, from the building’s occupancy limits to his insistence on running one of the last major walk-in shelters around.
“Why should I duplicate what they’re doing?” Rice asked, referring to coordination with other organizations serving the homeless.
Now, Rice worries about what the shelter’s usual occupants will do. On Saturday, the shelter stationed porta-potties outside in anticipation of Sunday’s eviction. Blankets were stored in a “cubby” beneath a stairwell overhang, with other supplies stockpiled wherever there was room on the stairs and sidewalk.
Rice said about 110 people stayed in the shelter on Saturday night. The city said it had prepared for other shelters to accommodate about 150 people.
People seeking shelter should go to the Biddle Housing Opportunities Center, the city says. After an intake process, women could be admitted to a temporary shelter at the 12th and Park Recreation Center. Men could go to a shelter at 1415 North 13th Street, in a building run by the city forestry division, though some have questioned whether it will be adequate.
“We do have room,” said Crane. “But this is also an opportunity where the entire region needs to step forth,” she added, noting that the last known address of about 50 percent of St. Louis’ homeless population lies outside of the city.
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