Full steam ahead for RV Ministries

RAPID CITY – RV Ministries was approved for a conditional use permit June 15 after being unanimously denied by the Rapid City Planning Commission on May 22. The permit is for a feeding and outreach center at 112 East North St.

Homeless populations crossing the East North St. at non-designated crosswalks and crossing the railroad immediately behind the property were the concerns cited for the original denial of the permit.

RV Ministries has only acquired the new building recently, but has been serving the homeless population for 6 years. They began serving from an old camper that was parked at the skate park on New York St. After a move to the gym at the Club for Boys, RV Ministries began looking for their own location to lease, buy, or borrow.

“We discovered that the community is not very open to having a large gathering of chronic homeless in the area,” said former RV Ministries President Cathie Harris. “Similar to the opposition of the Care Campus and One Heart faced.”     When RV Ministries’ appeal was brought to the Rapid City Council, the Rapid City Planning Commission maintained their original stance of denial.

“Staff could not agree more with the intent that RV Ministries is proposing, hats off to them,” said Vicki Fischer of the Planning Commission in the Rapid City Council meeting during discussion of the appeal. But, Fischer cited a 16,000 average daily traffic for East North St. at 35 miles per hour with curbside sidewalks for foot traffic.

“It’s just a fundamentally unsafe location,” said recently resigned Police Chief Karl Jegeris. “If you separate emotion from logic, it is a very dangerous location for these services to be provided.”

In response to the denial by the Rapid City Planning Commission due to safety concerns at the new location, RV Ministries has proposed cross walk guards and has placed slow signs for passing cars. They have also offered to build a chain link fence along the property that is adjacent to the rail road to deter patrons from crossing the railroad.

With the addition of increased safety measures, RV Ministries stressed the importance of their services and the relationships that they have built with 6 years’ experience and 18 people brought out of homelessness with zero budget.

“We are so much more than just a hot meal,” said Harris. “We have worked 312 Sundays and served over 63,000 meals. We are friends and family to all on the street.”

The new location, nicknamed “The Building”, will offer life skills programs, hot meals in the evenings throughout the week, and the Ministry’s original Sunday morning biscuits and gravy.

“Our guests will be required to check in and help with the maintenance of the building and property, and many have already taken on that task,” said Harris. “It won’t be just a hang out.”

Harris continued by stating that there are between 5-10 people waiting each week to help set up for Sunday’s breakfast at 5 a.m. when she arrives.

For now, RV Ministries will continue to offer Sunday morning biscuits and gravy from 7-10 a.m. until the building can be renovated. After renovation, it is hopeful that the services to the homeless population will expand past hot meals

The City Council’s vote for reversing the denial came to 5-4 in favor of reversal. Laura Armstrong, Darla Drew, Bill Evans, Lance Lehmann and Greg Strommen voted in favor of RV Ministries. Becky Drury, Chad Lewis, Ritchie Nordstrom and John Roberts voted to uphold the denial.

Reasons for approval from various council members included the current capacity stress put on locations like The Hope Center, and the overall sentiment that RV Ministries presents.

In an email provided by RV Ministries after the vote, Lance Lehmann chronicled his reasoning for voting to reverse the denial. He said “It is my belief that continuing to cater to our homeless population allows for enabling behavior, but nobody with two eyes and a brain can deny that the problem is rampant and in our faces, and a big ship cannot be turned around overnight. Please continue to teach and transition this population into stable lives and productive livelihoods.” And he concluded by saying “Thank you for your work, It is my naïve hope you will work yourselves out of jobs.”

(Contact Travis at travisldewes@gmail.com)

 

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