WPCNR THE HOMELESS NEWS. By John F. Bailey. November 10, 2007: As the thermometer dipped to 32 degrees as of midnight, White Plains Police report there is no “Warming Center” open for the city’s “homeless of the night.” The City police desk when asked if there was a Warming Center in the city open to those with no shelter, the police officer on duty said there was no location a homeless person without shelter could go and walk in off the street.
County Executive Andrew Spano has established warming centers in Peeksill, Yonkers, Mount Vernon and New Rochelle as of November 5 – with just chairs for the persons wandering in to sleep on. White Plains as yet does not have one, because the clergy protested that they felt providing chairs only for the drop-in homeless was inhumane. The clergy were able to acquire County Executive Spano’s agreement to establish a warming center in White Plains with cots 9 days ago, but as of tonight, Saturday, apparently the clergy have not found a location.
A homeless person WPCNR spoke to said they are not aware of it if it has opened.
Eight days ago, representatives of several of the city’s churches, attempting to provide cots for the city’s homeless population, mostly men who have refused to enroll in the Department of Social Services sought city permission to open a Warming Center or centers if the city would allow it. The city said such centers could be established with a special permit within the city downtown business district, but not in the surrounding neighborhoods.
The location of a warming center which the clergy was working on was to be located at one of three churches within the downtown area of White Plains. Those church locations were not disclosed. The clergy requesting the city's permission to operate warming shelters indicated the churches expected the county to pay the church(es) selected for security and staffing personnel to house the homeless overnight.
Open Arms Does Not Answer WPCNR Question.
As of this evening, the warming center(s) in White Plains has not been established. Open Arms Shelter an operation of Grace Church had indicated they could serve about 19 persons between them at the meeting with the Common Council, but it is not clear whether they are accepting persons seeking shelter from the cold Saturday night.
When WPCNR called Open Arms at midnight this evening, a woman answering the phone refused to answer WPCNR’s inquiry whether Open Arms was accepting homeless persons off the street. not previously registered with the county, the so-called “hard core homeless” left without an overnight Drop-In Shelter when the county closed the 85 Court Street drop in.
The woman answering the phone when WPCNR called tonight said I would have to discuss that with John Rubin, the Director of the program who would not be in until Monday morning. I asked if they were accepting unregistered homeless due to the 32 degree temperatures, wouldn’t you want that known I asked. The official, who did not identify herself, repeated I would have to call the Director of the program Monday and said she would have to terminate the conversation.
