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The city’s homeless population continues to be a topic of concern with no easy answer on how to help the individuals.

Earlier this week there were displaced males seen outside the now closed Sonic Drive-In at 2648 Memorial Blvd. A man and woman were seen sleeping under a church carport around the 3500 block of 25^th Street. Tents are beginning to pop back up in the woods along 46^th Street near Walmart.

The Rev. Keith Richard of New World Harvest Church estimates there are currently between six to seven encampments in Port Arthur.

Richard has worked with the displaced population for a number of years and hopes to help them find a home, per se, where they could have their needs tended to as well as their physical and mental health needs, in hopes of them going on to have jobs and self-sufficiency.

In the past year several encampments have been dispersed including an unofficial veterans/homeless shelter operating in a former nursing home without permits.

The issue is a hot button topic for city leaders who, after all is said and done, each want the best outcome within the confines of the law.

Some background

In 2022 the Port Arthur Coalition for the Homeless Advisory Board was formed in which each councilmember and mayor was to select two members to serve two year terms.

Ordinance 22-17 created the board but the members’ terms expired March 29.

Mayor Thurman Bartie said in an October article that the original coalition was handled by previous councilmember Ingrid Holmes but due to unforeseen events, regular meetings were not being held.

Mayor Pro Tem Doneane Beckcom who also represents District 3, has asked Bartie to reestablish the coalition in August 2023. She made the requests in open council meetings and email requests.

Bartie said on Thursday he would be calling for a meeting with the coalition members by the end of the month.

Beckcom said the coalition is not yet fully staffed with the 14 members required. She requested the coalition be placed on the July 30 agenda asking councilmembers and the mayor to have their appointees’ names ready.

This did not happen.

As of this week, seven people have been named to the coalition; Keith Richard, Jada Fobbs, Catherine Richard, Dr. Rosalyn Queen, Melanie Ned, Patricia Henderson, and Dr. Nina Stelly, according to information from the city.

Coalition

Beckcom has high hopes for the group, when formed.

“I think the coalition will serve as a think tank to gather ideas for services that are needed, where the services are locally, what other services we may need to establish, funding and grants, etc. The real work will be handled through other areas such as the health department, VA, social services, county departments, etc.,” Beckcom said. “The coalition hopefully will gather information and brainstorm plans to combat the issues we are having in the City with the homeless population and then involve other appropriate agencies to assist in actually getting things in place. We should also be meeting with other cities, other city’s officials, and county officials as this is a SETX problem, not just a Port Arthur problem.”

Beckcom would like to see what other cities have done to solve this problem.

The best example she is aware of in Texas is Dallas County where they established a Mental Health Court as well as several “tiny house” locations for homeless veterans and others in the homeless population that qualify for the services.

For this the person would be vetted through the Mental Health Court system, must abide by the rules and get the services they need.

Bartie said he would like to see wrap-around services for the individuals in a central location.

The former Cypress Glen location

While both Bartie and Beckcom seek for a positive solution, the two have differing thoughts on the issue. That came to a head with the July disbursing of individuals that were staying at the 75,00 square foot facility that was formerly Cypress Glen Nursing & Rehabilitation, 7200 9^th Ave.

Pastor Richard along with facility owner Dr. Stan Packard had opened the doors to allow 10 homeless individuals to stay there giving them the opportunity to have a shower, food, a place to rest and get out of the elements and weekly visits from the Gulf Coast Health Center’s mobile unit.

The problem? There was no certificate of occupancy for the facility.

Cypress Glen made national news in 2017 as media crews documented Hurricane Harvey and the plight of the nursing home residents stranded in wheelchairs and hospital beds in the floodwaters. Officials with the nursing home did not evacuate the facility. Legal action was taken and the site was closed down.

In the nearly seven years that passed, the former nursing home has been gutted, remediated and repaired but no current certificate of occupancy has been obtained.

The issue of homeless staying at the faculty was brought to the attention of Beckcom and eventually to city officials and a stop work order was issued thus closing the site.

Leaders, community reaction

Bartie said the issue of where the displaced individuals live is a human issue.

“This is not an issue of not wanting something in your district because you think your district is affluent,” Bartie said. “If there’s property in an affluent district that can actually house the individuals I will work to house those individuals in that facility.”

As for the coalition, Bartie said he would do what is necessary so as not to exacerbate homelessness “and not just maliciously remove people from a facility because it’s in your affluent neighborhood.”
Beckcom said no one in that area wants a homeless shelter on the old Cypress Glen property.

“I have spoken to many residents who are opposed to that property being used as a shelter,” she said. “Other possibilities for that building are more acceptable, such as a women’s and children’s shelter (for people escaping domestic violence), foster children without placements — CWOP, which is a huge problem across Southeast Texas. Veterans who are willing to accept help and participate in recovery programs, a mental health facility, just to name a few.”

Dr. Stan Packard is set to meet with the city to discuss how to get a proper occupancy permit.

The meeting is to “figure out what it takes to get a proper occupancy permit so we can progress forward,” Stanton said.

Richard and Packard in July were working under the assumption that a certificate of occupancy was still valid; they recently learned it was not. This forced the closure of the building until permits were obtained.

New law

The U.S. Supreme Court in late June overturned a ruling from an appeals court clearing the way for cities to enforce bans on people sleeping outdoors in public.

This ruling equates to a ban on homeless encampments.

Bartie said he is aware of the ruling and will look to other cities to see if there is a model that can be used in Port Arthur.
Beckcom said she plans to speak with the newly hired city attorney Roxann Cotroneo when she officially comes on board.

“I plan to discuss this with her and have her research how this opinion affects our ordinances and what we can do to strengthen our ability to deal with this issue,” she said. “Right now there are many steps we must take in order to remove people who are camping out on private and public property and it is my understanding that this opinion allows for a more streamlined process. This would go hand-in-hand with having services available to this population, whether it is somewhere in Port Arthur or up the road in Beaumont, so that they have a place to go when they are removed rather than just going to jail.”