Please Shut Down NLEC
Tomorrow the city’s Board of Public Service will continue hearing testimony in response to a petition calling for New Life Evangelistic Center’s hotel license to be revoked. Both sides have been presenting their arguments for weeks now.
Six years ago I bought a loft exactly two blocks to the west of NLEC. I was aware of the complaints about NLEC at the time but I also believed we can’t let one problem property owner ruin an entire neighborhood.Over the last six years I’ve become more familiar with NLEC, the homeless, and other homeless service providers. Those entities that provide needed services are not created equal.
Larry Rice has convinced many that he’s the only game in town. NLEC is, in fact, a very last resort for many — they’d rather sleep outside than on one of his cots. When NLEC kicks everyone to the curb at 6am the others begin providing meals, counseling, computers, showers, etc.
From my balcony I can see the building that houses another homeless agency one block south of me. The Bridge is a day shelter and provider of meals, they have a professional security staff that monitors activity inside and out. They work with their neighbors to improve the safety for everyone. NLEC says they’re not responsible for anything that happens outside their facility.
To the west of me is the Horizon Club:
Horizon Club is a 24-hour drop in center for individuals without homes, operated by DD Resources. It is also funded by Housing and Urban Development through the St. Louis City Department of Human Services. The City of St. Louis Department of Human Services and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, both seek to end homelessness.
Horizon Club offers membership and guest services to people without homes, especially those with disabilities. The Horizon Club features computer games, internet access, and satellite television as well as showers and lockers. This center is a safe place to spend time relaxing in a quiet recreation.
These other agencies are all trying to get the homeless off the streets, to improve their lives. NLEC, I believe, wants to keep the homeless on the streets — that helps them look needed and get donations. I think they’re fooling themselves to think they’ll end homelessness, though. Every time you get someone off the streets someone else will become homeless. I accept that I’ll always have homeless around my loft building.
Shutting down NLEC is the right thing to do for everyone except Larry Rice and his staff. The other homeless service providers can come out from behind NLEC’s shadow, the homeless will get more than a baloney sandwich, a bible, and a cot without a pillow or blanket.
Those wishing to let the Board of Public Service know how they feel about NLEC should email the board secretary, Cherise Thomas.
— Steve Patterson
You can’t have it both ways. NLEC is so horrible that the homeless don’t want to go there – AND it attracts so many homeless people that it’s ruining the neighborhood. What gives?
NLEC has nearly 100% of the mindshare of the general public. When police from other communities drop off their homeless they being them to NLEC.
If NLEC is shut down, is there another operator “in the wings” ready to take over the property / replace the beds that NLEC currently provides every night?
Yes.
Don’t disagree, but a place to sleep, especially in the winter, would seem to be everyone’s number one priority, and the other providers that you’ve identified don’t seem to offer beds, just drop-in support services. It appears that NLEC’s operation in St. Louis provides something like 125-150 beds each night – http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/09/13/larry-rice-fears-mayor-slay-wants-him-shut-down/ . . Most likely, these beds will need to be replaced, immediately, if NLEC is shut down. And I am conflicted about making that statement, since I also believe that supply will always expand to meet demand for homeless services, in any setting.
On the micro level, I don’t want to see anyone sleeping on cardboard, but on a macro level, as you noted, homeless people are being transported to the city because other jurisdictions don’t want to admit that they have a homeless “problem” and don’t want to spend any of their money to deal with it (provide beds). NLEC has been here for nearly 40 years (way longer than you and your neighbors), so they’re obviously meeting a regional need, no matter how poorly or imperfectly managed they may be. Shutting them down may “solve” some local management “problems”, but will do little to minimize the exterior effects of multiple individuals making poor social choices while living on the streets. It may also help force a long overdue regional discussion on the provision of homeless services, but it may just as easily result in more people sleeping in vacant buildings and on downtown sidewalks, with more dire and negative outcomes.
NLEC’s original license was for 50 or so. If that many cots exist they’re not full most nights. For all the years I’ve been downtown I know a network of emergency beds open up during extreme weather conditions (hot, cold). Many works rather sleep outside than in NLEC.
Again, there are many more things they need.
My husband has lived downtown for 10 years. If any of the current NLEC patrons have been there longer than him, then the NLEC is not helping that person. At least other shelters offer programs and resources to get them back on track. (Also, people love to claim that the homeless have been here longer than us residents, but how many of those homeless people were picked up in the county and dropped off here?)
I walk by the NLEC every day, and I used to see sidewalks packed full of sleeping men, women and even babies. Even now that the sidewalks are thankfully fenced off, there are people sitting at the corner of the school across the street 24/7. Speaking of the school, have you ever looked up the NLEC’s address in the Sex Offender Registry? At least a dozen names pop up. How are they allowed to “live” across the street from a school?
Obviously, none of the homeless people (should?) have lived at the NLEC for very long, but the facility and its obvious impacts HAS been there for decades. I get it, I wouldn’t want to live next to a poorly-run homeless shelter, either. But to say, now that the area is getting better / gentrifying, that the NLEC has “changed its stripes” / is doing anything differently than it has done for 3-4 decades, smacks of NIMBY at its finest. No place is going to welcome a facility of this size, that caters to this demographic, with open arms. If neighbors, like you, didn’t do their due diligence before buying within a block or two of an established facility, why should it be incumbent on Larry Rice to relocate? To likely impact another stable city neighborhood? Whether it’s mental illness, drug use or being a registered sex offender, these people will not be welcome anywhere. “Solving” your problems just shifts them somewhere else!
You can’t complain about “shifting them somewhere else” when a large portion of those people come from the county, and have no where to go in that area. And I believe several people below have listed other places that these people can go and get *actual* help, from places that take responsibility for both their welfare and their behavior. Larry Rice does neither. And no witty retort about the school, I see?
Is it fair that the zoo and the art museum are in Forest Park and attract hundreds of suburbanites? Is it fair that Lambert Airport is located in the county and attracts thousands of city residents? Is it fair that the Galleria is in people’s back yards in Brentwood / Clayton? Is it fair that there’s a Federal Prison in Marion, Illinois, with few, if any, inmates from that city or county?
In Denver, I lived a block and a half away from a busy fire house. It was there before I moved in, and fire trucks would pass by several times a day, with sirens blaring. Was it irritating? Yes, but I got used to it, to the point I only noticed when the sirens stopped nearby. I certainly didn’t expect the city to “do something” to make it “go away”. (And, yes, I agree that shipping the homeless into the city is not fair to St. Louis and its residents.)
My point is that you should have known, much like your husband apparently knew well, that the NLEC was there and that its clients would not make the best of neighbors. It’s no different than living next to a sewage treatment plant or a landfill – these institutions have been there for decades and are difficult to move, if they can be moved, at all. Larry Rice may be a master manipulator and a borderline evil person (he’s certainly not afraid of confrontation), but he IS providing beds every night to a population that needs them. Taking away 10% or 15% of the city’s available beds, absent any replacements, is not a solution!
As for a “witty retort about the school”, call the cops! If laws are being broken, it’s their job to enforce them – not you, not me, not Larry. These are adults and each is responsible for their own actions. And beware the Law of Unintended Consequences – the school wasn’t a problem until the sidewalks were closed off.
Human beings compared to a sewage treatment plant or landfill….SMH
Zoo and Art museum are in part supported by suburbanites, Lambert, Galleria, and Prison contribute to the local economy…they are not people.
Individual human beings are different than a large facility – the institution creates the impact because it’s large and attracts clients who don’t have access to the same resources that you and I have 24/7 – a roof over our heads, bathing facilities and restroom facilities. When nature calls and there are no restroom facilities available, shit happens, literally!
Try to read slowly this time… there are many other places for these people to go, and many other solutions in the works. See below. And I do think people are a little different than “a sewage treatment plant or a landfill.” Your example is quite telling.
Larry isn’t responsible for his property? He shouldn’t enforce rules there? This is exactly why his license should be revoked. A hotel would never be allowed to operate this way. And your last sentence makes no sense. Was it okay for babies in strollers to sleep on the sidewalk outside of this school? I saw it every morning.
“there are many other places for these people to go” = NIMBY!
People are different than sewage or trash, but having a homeless shelter, a sewage treatment plant or a landfill next door would all be truly nasty if they’re poorly run and poorly managed (like NLEC apparently is) and can be tolerable if run well.
Larry IS responsible for his property. He is not responsible for the school’s property, for the public library’s property or for what happens at the 7-11. His clients are adults, they are responsible for their actions, he is not their parent or guardian.
No, it is NOT “okay for babies in strollers to sleep on the sidewalk outside of this school”! But why was this happening? Their parent(s?) were trying to find a bed, a shelter. How will having fewer beds make this better?! We need more resources, not fewer, just not concentrated downtown!
I’ll repeat, my objection is only to the concept and the headline that we should “Shut Down NLEC” ABSENT any replacement resources. If the beds are moved elsewhere, even dispersed throughout the larger community, great! If the beds stay here and management changes, improves, great! But to just say “close him down” and then to expect that the “problem” will magically disappear is living in a fantasy world. “These people” may be poorly managed inside NLEC (and not at all outside), but if NLEC “goes away,” they will just be out on the street, most likely in this area, waiting for other resources to open up. I get it, there are “many other solutions in the works”. Once they’re in place, actually working, fine, shut NLEC down. But until that happens, he’s providing a needed public resource that few people want to have as a neighbor.
It’s not NIMBY when the other places we support are just a close, or closer.
Do these other places have 100+ beds available?
For the record, here is a list of other homeless services operating downtown. I apologize for the formatting but you can read it for yourself at the link below. Some of you seem to have the concept that the NLEC is the only one providing homeless services downtown which is far from true. Mr. Rice is the only one that I am aware of that spends money on TV asking for donations. Personally, I would not give money to someone whose sole function in life is soliciting donation on TV for charity. Time and time again history has shown these people to be more concerned with themselves than anyone else. But since some of you keep asking what will the homeless do without the NLEC this is the answer. The homeless don’t like these other services as most of them require some sort of commitment from them in exchange for providing services. The… NLEC does not and there partly lies one of the biggest issues with NLEC.
http://stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/human-services/homeless-services/documents/City-CoC-Permanent-Supportive-Housing-Beds.cfm
Thanks for the information!
ST. LOUIS CITY CoC PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING BEDS INVENTORY
AGENCY GRANT YEAR OPERATING START YEAR TOTAL BEDS CHRONIC BEDS
Doorways Delmar 1990 October 1991 11 0
Department of Mental Health – Queen of Peace 1994 September 1994 187 3
Department of Mental Health – Shelter+Care TRA 1994 October 1994 361 6
Doorways Maryland 1996 January 1997 36 2
Department of Mental Health – Shelter+Care TRA 2001 July 2001 78 3
DD Resources – Great Horizon 2002 July 2004 24 6
Community Alternatives 2002 November 2004 52 0
Doorways Jumpstart 2002 November 2004 70 0
Catholic Family Services 2003 February 2005 6 0
St. Vincent DePaul Project MORE 2005 May 2007 35 20
I too live right next door to Larry Rice’s NLEC, a half a block to the west, so thank you Steve for publicizing this issue on urbanreviewstl.com. One of the things I learned keeping up with the proceedings for the hotel license renewal is that Larry Rice collects and keeps all the money his “residents” are given by the state. This does not sounds like a charitable good Samaritan to me, do not be fooled. Also, some of the homeless population would rather sleep on the sidewalk than in his shelter because they are scared for their life inside — they attested to this during the proceedings.
My thoughts do not represent those of the entire neighborhood but are rather my own personal thoughts.
Some thoughts re: NLEC, temporary emergency overnight accommodations and the future:
NLEC’s original occupancy permit was only for 3x-something beds Steve. And, interestingly, it states NLEC cannot serve anyone with mental challenges, which as we know from our time serving on the Bridge board Steve, is a concern in this population.
As you stated, NLEC’s staff (specifically Chris Rice & Larry Rice) have said publicly and privately they do not believe anything that happens outside the 4 corners of their real estate is their problem.
There are many unprecedented experiences/statements coming out of the hearings. To date, NLEC did not deny that, they do not staff professional social workers. They rely on volunteers, and they could not produce documents showing how frequent social workers volunteer. Additionally, NLEC did not deny they had a NET WORTH (not assets, but rather NET WORTH) of $40,000,000 to $50,000,000. But they can’t staff paid social workers?
Additionally, there has been testimony by persons staying at NLEC that there are drug transactions inside NLEC, theft inside NLEC and that “joining the program” means one must also agree to participate in worship services at NLEC and not-for-pay work.
It’s apparent to our team (the petitioner) that Larry & Chris Rice have both avoided many questions, skirting our inquiries and in some cases bold-face lying about their knowledge of NLEC’s detriment to the neighborhood or how NLEC is managed. For example, Larry Rice, in his testimony, largely deferred to Chris as to how NLEC is managed, whether or not there was written security protocol, etc. When Chris testified, he was clear about a couple of things: He recently hired 3rd party security (post petition); he did survey guests, but could only produce a point-in-time document, meaning, he had only recently surveyed guests. So, NLEC doesn’t even keep data on-site. How do you help people or analyze trends if you’re not keeping detailed data about the population you’re serving?
Chris Rice claimed he could not agree that NLEC “guests” littered in the neighborhood or outside NLEC. He of course made a point to claim I personally asked him to leave the neighborhood, which I did not. How can we work with neighbors that do not communicate and much worse, lie? I obviously take all of this very personally, and I find it very concerning the City of St. Louis has allowed this facilitate to operate in the manner it has been for decades, especially having heard the testimony we’ve heard to date.
If people in this region actually read the NLEC transcripts, and took the time to study NLEC’s methods, well, I don’t think NLEC would exist.
Present Day:
The Department of Human Services (Bill Siedhoff’s dept.) is working to locate temporary emergency overnight facilities in case NLEC is closed. Winter Outreach is a part of these discussions.
Moving forward:
Winter Outreach has been meeting regularly to discuss best methods moving forward. My understanding is the Continuum of Care has been meeting regularly also.
I’ve been participating in the aforementioned Winter Outreach meetings. We typically meet at Mokabee’s on SATs. I’d encourage you or anyone interested to attend. If you’re interested, email me at bw@bradwaldrop.com.
The population NLEC is “serving” is a highly transient population. I agree with Steve in that, we will not ever eliminate the possibility that someone will need emergency overnight shelter. So “ending” homelessness, from an emergency overnight perspective, is not a reality.
So, if NLEC is serving this transient population, then they should be interacting with them: collecting data; introducing each and every person to a staff social worker; pointing people to other services … Of course, NLEC does not do this systematically or in a professional manner.
Worse, NLEC’s “staff” is composed of persons-in-need that lack training. Meaning, the Rice’s go home every night and leave guests to manage themselves. Knowing this, it’s not surprising to me at all that someone was murdered inside NLEC and, more recently, someone that was intoxicated fell (or as Chris Rice testified, “jumped”) to their death inside NLEC. As a region we should be ashamed we’ve allowed such a facility to exist for so long.
Most 2-1-1 calls (the “9-1-1” line for persons that become homeless) are NOT coming from downtown St. Louis.
We do have a concentration of 2-1-1 calls here in downtown (DT), but I believe those calls are more related to our concentration of providers, and hence a concentration of persons in need in DT that are likely calling 2-1-1 for help. In fact, I’ve called 2-1-1 to help persons staying at NLEC get out at these persons requests.
Emergency overnight facilities should be located based on where 2-1-1 calls come in from. Doesn’t it make sense to evaluate the stats, and work with the stats as our basis when locating facilities?
For example, we have a large concentration of 2-1-1 calls coming from the area where Northside Regeneration (McKee’s project) just received TIF approval. Why not plan small, 25-bed facilities in Northside Regeneration? I believe these should be permanent facilities, not mobile facilities.
Ultimately, I believe any dense neighborhood should have a PERMANENT 25-bed facility.
This way, we could teach generations of youth about these facilities. For example, if I could teach my kids about a facility and what its purpose is, and we could say these facilities were located in various “town squares”, we wouldn’t see future generations sending their persons-in-need to any one location, like downtown. Each neighborhood would take care of its own “needy” population. I believe, not only would this be a more manageable situation (personnel and budget wise), but these people-in-need would also be better integrated into the neighborhood, into the community, which is a necessary part of helping people transit out of homelessness (neighbors helping neighbors).
There are many more reasons why smaller bed facilities distributed within the city would work to better serve those in need and the communities they become homeless in.
In this idea of 25-bed facilities distributed throughout dense populations in the city, each facility should have a full-time social worker staff. Like state parks and the park rangers that work in them, each 25-bed shelter’s social worker staff could grow and shrink based on that neighborhood’s need … much like state parks’ staffs increase and decrease based on the camping season and how busy it is.
Furthermore, these 25-bed facilities should act as triages. Meaning, other providers should bring services to these facilities. For example, the VA could bring services to veterans at these facilities.
*By the way, downtown has a population of approx. 7,800 residents per the census and the Partnership for DT STL’s up-to-date census. We would be hypocritical if we did not allow a permanent 25-bed facility in our downtown. I personally am okay with such a facility being located in downtown, although I do NOT believe we have many persons becoming homeless in downtown. How could we with such a small population?? I just thought I’d bring this up … because we’re consistently being judged for quality of life crimes etc. in downtown, yet we deal with the region’s persons-in-need, THE REGION’S.
Finally, how would a distributed services model containing emergency overnight as a major component be funded? Phoenix, Arizona initiated a campaign in which they used stats to convince the metro area the urban core was handling the region’s persons-in-need. They did this by asking persons-in-need being served in DT Phoenix “where have you lived in the past X months? Name the zip codes …” When they had those stats, they convinced the region they needed to at least fund the services. This turned into what I’m guessing became a state initiative to fund service providers in Phoenix. Ultimately, Phoenix attained funding via the state lotto. It seems to me, if Nixon’s administration was lobbied, our casinos & state lotto are potential funding sources for 25-bed emergency overnight facilities with social workers on staff.
I think the city of St. Louis and the region needs to take this opportunity to help those in need. This is why I’m not afraid, regardless of the pending legal battle, to discuss ideas openly.
My personal perspective is that the Rice’s should no longer be allowed to operate any emergency overnight facility in the City of St. Louis. They’ve proven their concept is bad (providing hundreds of beds going against what they’ve been permitted; calling people in from the region and beyond with their mass media sources and Christian network; their unwillingness to hire professional full-time social workers; their admission they do not believe anything outside of their real estate is their problem when we know they are kicking people out at 6 AM each day …). And they’ve had their chance (for decades) to be progressive, come up with new ideas, change the status quo …
-Brad Waldrop
Brad, StL homeless winter outreach does not regularly meet at MoKaBe’s. Our meetings have generally been held on Wed nights. Information can be found on stlouis homeless winter outreach yahoo group.
I wonder if you have ever served and minister to, those who are homeless? have you ever been inside of NLEC, Steve? Do you ‘know’ the poor? Have you spent time with them, listened to them, spoke with them? NLEC is doing the best they can. The more people who serve, the better and easier their life, and ours, will be.
I’ve helped get homeless off the streets, they’ve been guests in my loft. Yes, I’ve been inside NLEC and several other homeless service providers downtown.
um, looking for ANYTHING remotely positive in this article. Anything….wow! Nothing? what are we doing to fix the problem instead of pointing it out? people, c’mon, let’s help each other out.
so, let me get this right….big money moves in, and after 40 years, the poor get pushed out? Isaiah 58 and Matthew 25: 34-42. Throw Jesus out in the streets. yes, that will be a Great reward for us. one more chance to abandon Him in the poor.
hey, genius, this aint a theocracy, we dont base public policy on the fucking bible.
This isn’t your church, take those references elsewhere.
You allow people to degrade, insult, and cuss to ‘let them hang themselves’ but bring up Jesus and the Bible and it’s ‘get out of here’. Another slip into irrelevancy.
I try to provide a place where all viewpoints can be expressed.
Unless they include the Bible or Jesus.
Quoting fictional books isn’t very persuasive.
i talked to a homeless guy that said he would rather eat out of a dumpster than eat the sandwiches Larry Rice is dolling out. NLEC has to go. thanks, Sarge