While a few residents of Waynesboro are upset about plans for an outreach center for unhoused community members in the Tree Streets, overwhelmingly, homeowners have spoken up to express support for the effort.
St. John’s Episcopal Church, located on Wayne Avenue, has admittedly provided “small acts of hospitality to the unhoused” as it cements its plans for a more permanent work re-education center.
That hospitality has drawn the ire of a local couple, Michael Jacobs and Michelle Weeks, who house is located next door to the church. Weeks, along with their children, placed letters in mailboxes asking residents nearby to join them at a meeting with church leadership on Tuesday night.
An article in Augusta Free Press shared the couple’s letter with readers, and community members expressed outrage in the comment section in response to the news.
Many residents have expressed frustration with the “not in my backyard” mentality expressed in the letter.
“It’s really beautiful to see a pastor who views the entire community as his flock, not just paying parishioners,” Sarah Wayland Smith wrote. “Homelessness is not going anywhere. These centers are vital in helping combat the issue.”
ICYMI
Jack McClenahan lives beside the church and said he has not witnessed any bad behavior or vandalism.
“These unfortunate folks need a hand up, not another foot on their neck,” he wrote. “Kudos, St. John’s, for their Christian action, for their concern and help for the ‘least of my brethren’ as Jesus taught.”
Heather Chandler said her family considered issues such as noise, church bells and even Fishburne cannons before they bought their house in the Tree Streets.
“We accept and embrace all of this,” she wrote. “A neighborhood may include homes, schools, churches, but kindness and compassion make for good neighbors.”
Jacobs and Weeks wrote in their letter that they were concerned about safety, property values and the neighborhood’s character and charm. They also pointed to mental illness, drug addiction and increased crime rates as things that put their family and property at risk.
“As word spreads that St. John’s Episcopal Church is a permissive space for the homeless population, more homeless people will congregate at St. John’s Episcopal Church and spill into the surrounding neighborhood. Our neighborhood.”
Jacobs, Weeks and several of their immediate neighbors met with church leaders last week; a discussion the church said was “difficult.” A second meeting is planned for Tuesday night.
Reader: Homelessness is a community issue
The letter, clearly intended to rile up the community to come out against the church, appears to have done the opposite.
Gray Herndon wrote: “We are Tree Street residents (pretty near the church) and were appalled to receive the letter.”
Like many others who commented, Herndon said she planned to contact the church to express support and ask what can be done to support the church’s efforts.
The letter specifically raised issue with an unhoused woman and “her male visitor” occupying the church’s empty lot on Chestnut Avenue and a man who was allowed to sleep in the bushes in front of the church.
Proponents of helping the unhoused thanked St. John’s for its efforts to help those in need; some even suggested the church do more and open its doors to allow the unhoused a cushion and pew to sleep on inside.
St. John’s serves as an overflow shelter in the winter when the local cold-weather shelter can’t accommodate those in need. Waynesboro Area Refuge Ministry, or WARM, offers a thermal weather shelter that runs from Thanksgiving to Easter. The location rotates between churches and provides a warm meal each night in addition to respite away from the elements.
“I understand that some fear property values or inconveniences, but let us not forget that the measure of a community is not how perfect it looks, but how it treats its most vulnerable,” Linda Vardaman wrote.
“Let us be the town that welcomes people in their time of need, that teaches kindness by example, and that shows that humanity and empathy matter above all else.”
Another resident of the Tree Streets, Chelsea Brenneman, said she did not receive the letter but plans to attend the meeting to praise the church for its efforts.
“I walk our neighborhood daily, and along the way, I’ve encountered a few friends sleeping on the streets. Each time I pass by and pray for them. I’ve never once thought to complain or demand that the church do something to make them leave,” she wrote.
William Spencer Smith said the issue isn’t a Wayne Avenue or a Tree Streets issue, it is a community issue.
“We should all be asking what we can do to support this program,” he wrote. “This is a chance for our city to show what we can do on the local level to make our community a better place for all. I can assure you that it is more of an inconvenience for them than those of us who have to ride by to our comfortable homes and warm meals.”
The meeting with community members and church leaders is planned for Tuesday night, Oct. 7, at 5:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall at 472 S. Wayne Ave. in Waynesboro.
Upcoming events addressing homelessness
- Waynesboro | Oct. 13 forum to address alarming rise in teen homelessness
- ‘The Housing Hustle’ | SAW group launches Solution Series to address creative housing
Video: Tree Street residents speak out on homelessness
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Crystal Graham
