Document text
Troubles trigger ICCA changes By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings More people using services at the Interfaith Care Community of Ashland office has put pressure on the already stretched-thin organization, causing tension among clients and forcing staff to tighten up on some house rules. "With our limited resources, we will tighten the rules," ICCA Director Sharon Schrieber said. "It will be more of a bureaucracy than it has been. That doesn't mean there will be any less compassion." Founded in 1989, the ICCA grew out of cooperation among Ashland churches and faith groups. In 1996, the ICCA found a home on Second Street, providing a place for homeless people to use as an address for mail and messages, do laundry, have access to local newspapers for information and classified ads, and to get help finding jobs and apartments by receiving resume advice and other support services. Clients and staff agree that the atmosphere in recent weeks has deteriorated, with an increase in arguing and even fighting among clients. "We're seeing 1,000 people a month - about 100 more over last year," ICCA home manager Jean Hallinan said. "We had 72 in one day last week." The result is a tightening up on existing rules - such as a limit on the amount of time clients spent at the office each day. "We need to enforce the one-hour rule," Schrieber said. "When we have five people a day, that's one thing, but when we have 70, that means a lot of people are going unserved who need those services." Other changes include a ban on snack food, cooking or heating up of food - which had always been prohibited, but until now had been loosely enforced. "These are not new rules, they're rules made for a reason," Schrieber said. "The house is small, and we have a conditional use permit (given by the city to operate in the residential neighborhood). The rules are not made to be punitive, and most of the time they are enforced based on need and on an individual basis." Home manager Hallinan enforces the rules, drawing the ire of some clients, but admiration from others. "They punish everyone for the acts of a few," ICCA client and homeless activist Daniel Rueff said. "I love the ICCA but I would like to see (Hallinan) replaced." Rueff was recently forced to leave the center following a conflict with Hallinan. "There's always been a level of chaos here," an ICCA client known as "Boots" said. "Now there's an anger level I haven't seen before." The change seems to coincide with the recent upsurge in activism in Ashland for both anti-war efforts and homeless issues, according to Ashland Mayor Alan DeBoer. "As the homeless people are pushing for a permanent home-site in Ashland, the pressure bearing on the ICCA is putting a stress on them," DeBoer said. But the program is only a resource, not a shelter, ICCA leaders stress. "This is not a home," Hallinan said. "That is what we need in town, but it's not what we are." The changes provoked former client Marilee Jenkinson to stop using the ICCA and to bring her grievances to the Ashland City Council. She believes ICCA staff lacks understanding of homeless issues. "Many of the people who sit at the front desk don't know anyone's names," Jenkinson said in an interview. "Why is a person serving (the homeless) community if she doesn't like the community?" But others praised the efforts of Hallinan and other ICCA staff. "Most of us are grateful for Jean," said Margaret Johnson, a client and mother of two young daughters making use of ICCA services. "This is a place of refuge." "(Hallinan) comes back new every day with mercy," client Aimee-Beth Keller said. "ICCA would not hold up well without her." "They've been hooking us up with food, which has been nice," client and homeless advocate Kirk Tierney said. "Still, without the food, it's a huge resource. But some will bite the hand that feeds them." While ICCA staff and clients attempt to hold things together as best they can, many hope for a more permanent solution, such as a real homeless shelter in Ashland. "The idea is not to for ICCA to provide a home, they're really for emergency help," DeBoer said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -