30-50 folks in the shelter? Our local Rescue Mission only wishes their load was so light....
West Palm Homeless Tent Faces Overcrowding Issues - West Palm Beach News Story - WPBF West Palm Beach
West Palm Homeless Tent Faces Overcrowding Issues - West Palm Beach News Story - WPBF West Palm Beach
West Palm Homeless Tent Faces Overcrowding Issues
Westgate Tabernacle Houses 30 To 50 People
POSTED: 11:46 pm EDT July 24, 2008
UPDATED: 12:17 am EDT July 25, 2008
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Westgate Tabernacle in West Palm Beach has helped the homeless for years.
With the growing number of families coming in, the facility is running out of room.
"They're sleeping pretty much toe-to-toe, head-to-head through here," said Bishop Avis Hill of the Westgate Tabernacle Church. "Not really tight, but it's full."
Thirty to 50 homeless people have filled the floors of the tabernacle's tent every night since Monday.
"We needed space inside the church because so many families and children are coming," Hill said.
Hill said the lowered economy is forcing more homeless people to his doorstep every night.
Westgate sees the tent as a logical option, but Palm Beach County Code Enforcement sees it differently. It cited Westgate for putting up a tent without a permit. With electrical wires and lights hanging, code enforcement wondered about the safety of the tent.
"That certainly raises questions regarding building code requirements, housing standards," said Terry Verner of Palm Beach County Code Enforcement.
"I wouldn't put anything here that I think would be a harm to anyone," Hill said.
The tent issue is just another one in a long line that dates back about eight or nine years with Palm Beach County over whether Westgate can house homeless people. While it's in the hands of the courts, Hill said his mission and the tent will continue.
"I'm just here to bring the awareness to people of this county that there's a need here," Hill said.
Hill said he's willing to cooperate with code inspectors and will do everything he can to get the lights and wiring up to code.
He said it's not probable that he'll be able to get an official permit for the tent from the county.
"There's as good a possibility of that as a snowball in Hades," he said. "That's kind of what I was led to believe."
Hill said he's waiting to hear from the courts whether he'll have to pay fines or close his tent.
