Supporters and Critics of Tent City Speak to Champaign City Council

For the second week in a row, supporters of a tent city for the homeless spoke out at last Tuesday night's Champaign City Council meeting. But this time, they were joined by neighbors who were not supportive at all.

Supporters of the Safe Haven Tent Community at the St. Jude Catholic Worker House on South Randolph say a Sunday night police visit amounted to harassment. But the neighbors say they welcome the police. They blame the small mostly male tent community for continued problems over the last three months. Cathy Tanner is the property manager for nearby Huntington Towers.

"We have had vandalism," says Tanner. "We've had drinking on the premises. We've had drugs. On a daily basis, it seems like we're chasing someone out or we're calling the police."

But Safe Haven residents and their supporters say the bad behavior comes from some of the people who gather for the daily meals at the Catholic Worker House. Jesse Masengale is one of the residents of the tent community. He says they enforce rules amongst themselves against drinking, drugs and disruptive behavior.

"We police ourselves -- we take pride in policing ourselves," Masengale told council members. "These folks haven't had anything going for them for most of their lives. And now we've put something together for them, that they can self-govern and help grow on their own.

Masengale says Safe Haven is willing to move to to some other location, if the city will help them find one. But city officials say the tent community violates city zoning rules and have told the Catholic Worker House that Safe Haven must close by Friday. Catholic Worker Volunteer Chris Watson says they'll appeal the order. The group is holding a neighborhood meeting tonight at the Champaign firehouse next door to try to work things out with the neighbors.