HUNTINGTON 人妖色情片 Amy Frazier and Toni Walls are contemplating what the relocation of a low-barrier shelter from Huntington人妖色情片檚 downtown business district to their organization人妖色情片檚 backyard means for the safety and future of the agencies and people they serve.
Frazier, director of Kiwanis Day Care Center of Huntington, and Walls, executive director of the Cabell Wayne Association of the Blind, work blocks away from what will soon be the city人妖色情片檚 low-barrier shelter 人妖色情片 the Huntington Homeless Services Hub, or 人妖色情片淭he Hub.人妖色情片 Frazier and Walls said the city did not approach them about the shelter before it was announced.
Frazier and Bendie Blair, assistant director of the day care, said their biggest concern is safety and the increased foot traffic in the area. The day care人妖色情片檚 playground has a direct view to a portion of the low-barrier shelter.
The day care is a fenced-in, locked facility with security cameras. Frazier and Blair are not concerned with anyone getting into the facility, but they would like to see enhanced safety measures put in place to ensure the safety of the children, parents and day care staff, such as an increased police presence in the area and treating drop-offs and pick-ups as a school zone with police and better lighting.
Frazier and Blair are looking into purchasing new covers for the fencing around the day care, such as a vinyl mesh cover like people see at baseball fields, to shield the children人妖色情片檚 view of the shelter from the playground.
The cover would also be decorated with the name of the day care to ensure people know what the facility is, in hopes of deterring people from climbing over the fence or throwing things over, Blair said.
Frazier and Blair said they worry about parents dropping their children off early in the morning when it人妖色情片檚 still dark outside and about the children who come to the day care on the school bus in the mornings.
人妖色情片淚 feel that the mayor had concerns with the low-barrier shelter being so close to the downtown business district, and I feel those concerns should still hold true being so close to a child care center,人妖色情片 Frazier said.
Kiwanis Day Care has been serving the community for 95 years; it is the oldest continuously operating child care center in the state. The property, owned by the city, was donated to the municipality to be used for child care in 1930, Frazier said.
The center is governed by the Kiwanis Club of Huntington and is a community partner with several organizations.
Frazier said the day care could not relocate, as the expense would be too much. Kiwanis takes care of children 6 weeks to 12 years old and has approximately 73 children enrolled. The day care is licensed for 98 children.
Frazier has worked at the day care for 13 years and has been director for eight; Blair has worked at the day care center for almost seven years.
人妖色情片淚t人妖色情片檚 not that we are against this shelter whatsoever,人妖色情片 Frazier said. 人妖色情片淎ll of us have said that from the beginning. This is something that is truly needed and the city partnering with Valley Health and other organizations to offer help for people is a wonderful thing. ... that close proximity to us is what人妖色情片檚 concerning.人妖色情片
While both Frazier and Blair are aware that the current emergency shelter is near St. Joseph Central Catholic High School and FABCare nursery and preschool governed by the Child Care Committee of Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, they feel the facilities are more spread out.
人妖色情片淵ou can人妖色情片檛 see one place from the other,人妖色情片 Blair said. 人妖色情片淚f you人妖色情片檙e going from the City Mission, there人妖色情片檚 no reason for you to walk by St. Joe or FAB. This is the direct line to downtown.人妖色情片
Mayor Patrick Farrell spoke to the Kiwanis board president after he attended a Huntington City Council meeting to share the board人妖色情片檚 concern over the low-barrier shelter and that the board had not been notified of the plans. According to Frazier, Farrell said he wanted to talk to the board and staff at a future Kiwanis board meeting.
Blair said she would be satisfied to have more lighting and increased police presence in the area, 人妖色情片淏ut when we don人妖色情片檛 have those things and this is just a dark little corner over here at night, we人妖色情片檙e going to have problems.人妖色情片
On up from the day care and slightly closer to the proposed low-barrier shelter, the Cabell-Wayne Association of the Blind is also grappling with what the new low-barrier shelter means for its current operations.
Walls, its director, said she has concerns over the low-barrier shelter being so close to the agency that serves a vulnerable population.
人妖色情片淏eing able to confidently suggest to our consumers that they人妖色情片檙e going to be safe in this neighborhood is definitely going to be affected by the presence of the low-barrier shelter,人妖色情片 Walls said.
The association of the blind does a lot outdoors, such as cane training, travel training and mobility lessons in the area. A mobility lesson, in the context of education for students with visual impairments, focuses on teaching them how to safely and independently navigate their environment using their remaining senses and assistive tools like canes.
Walls said the agency has had issues in the past with the foot traffic and walk-ins from a nearby methadone clinic. The increased traffic led to the building being a locked facility.
Once the low-barrier shelter is put in place, Walls fears the agency will have to lock its gates during the day, which will make it difficult for its six shuttles to get in and out.
人妖色情片淲e人妖色情片檙e here to serve, instruct and assist the people who are blind and visually impaired in this community with living a more independent, efficient life and we人妖色情片檙e going to be handed a more dangerous environment to try to do that in, and that人妖色情片檚 concerning,人妖色情片 Walls said.
Walls said the area has had issues with theft in the past. Since becoming director for the agency in 2018, Walls said it has lost five catalytic converters in that time. At the agency人妖色情片檚 activity building across the alley, which has water spigots on the outside of the building, soap and clothing have been found many times, she said, prompting them to put locks on the spigots.
While there is no exact correlation between the theft and other issues that have occurred in the area that can be directly tied to the nearby methadone clinic or unsheltered people, she believes the increased foot traffic in the area could increase the risks to the organization人妖色情片檚 property.
While the day care said they are OK with coexisting with the low-barrier shelter if the right safety precautions are put in place, Walls said she would rather it be located somewhere else.
人妖色情片淚t人妖色情片檚 frustrating that there wasn人妖色情片檛 more notice, more conversation about it,人妖色情片 Walls said. 人妖色情片淚t just seems like it happened really suddenly.人妖色情片
She and her husband are licensed ministers, she said, and have deep concerns for people and their needs, including those who are homeless.
人妖色情片淏ut my first priority is to protect this agency and the consumers that we serve and I think there has to be a solution that人妖色情片檚 better suited than putting it a block away from a day care and a agency that serves the blind and visually impaired.人妖色情片