ST. LOUIS • In the fellowship hall of Compton Hill Missionary Baptist Church on Friday morning, 10 men sat in folding chairs.
Some napped. Others watched TV. Their suitcases and backpacks were stacked in a corner. For the next five weeks, the tidy, brightly lit hall will serve as a day shelter for up to 65 homeless men.
The church, in the city’s Gate District, agreed to step in as a stopgap while the city continues to renovate a former public market into a 24-hour shelter.
“This is a temporary, five-week solution to make sure there are no gaps in service,†said Eddie Roth, the city’s human services director.
Thursday marked the final day of operation for a similar day shelter at Centenary United Methodist Church, at 16th and Olive streets. The city had hoped to have the new shelter, to be known as Biddle House, ready for business, but the target opening day is now Aug. 1.
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As a result, the city was facing a month without a day shelter. The leaders of Centenary church had already extended by six months the lease they had with the Bridge Outreach, a small nonprofit that ran the day shelter there.
They agreed to do so as the city struggled to open a permanent, 24-hour facility for the homeless that would combine the services offered at Centenary with those of an overnight shelter that the city runs at its 12th and Park Recreation Center.
But with increased pressure from neighbors about the crime and noise that came with the day shelter, Centenary told the city there would be no more extensions.
Roth met with Hence Forland. He runs Windsor Transitional Housing, the organization that operates the night shelter at the recreation center south of downtown. Forland agreed to take on day shelter duties as well. His contract with the city began Friday and runs through Aug. 5, giving a few days of wiggle room to open Biddle House, at 1210 North 13th Street.
“They are making galloping progress,†Roth said. Workers were on site Friday, doing work inside and outside of Biddle House, including pouring a large patio on the north side of the building. The fenced area will not be accessible from the street.
In a contract with the city, St. Patrick Center, about four blocks south of Biddle House, will operate the new 24-hour shelter.
At Centenary Church on Friday morning, the usual bustle was gone.
Two men leaned against a wrought iron fence that separates a church parking lot from the sidewalk, a large tree providing shade. They were not aware that homeless services were moving to the Compton Hill church. They shared a cigarette as they talked about jobs, getting a sandwich and living on the street.
Two miles away, at Compton Hill, Forland was chatting with his assistant manager, Angela Morris, and supervisor Clifford Lee, as they moved through their first day in business. Apples, granola bars and a large cooler of water with plastic cups were neatly arranged on a row of tables outside the kitchen. Forland pointed out the long list of rules posted near the bag drop-off.
Show respect. No drugs, alcohol or weapons. No sagging pants.
The center will provide breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack while open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. Organizers are working with a portable shower company as well as a barber to bring services to Compton Hill. The 12th and Park center will remain open later on Saturday mornings and throughout the day on Sundays to offer as much shelter time as possible, Roth said.
Lee understands the value of a shelter. He lived in them for two years. But in November, he began working for Forland. He said a place like this to come for food and access to services is essential to getting back to a life of independence.
Andrew Turner, 51, sat alone at a table, looking through a basket of books, including a Michelle Obama biography. He said he became homeless about a year ago following a nasty divorce.
“I went from middle class to living on the streets,†said Turner, from south ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County. He panicked when he heard the Bridge was closing, a place he counted on for meals.
“I thought I’d starve to death,†Turner said. But during registration for a night shelter at St. Patrick Center, he heard about Compton Hill.
“This is another blessing,†he said. His goal is to get into a transitional housing program and rebuild his life. Turner said he has stayed on his medication for bipolar disorder and looks forward to Biddle House opening.
There, he will have a place to call home around the clock, a place to tap into job training and social service programs.
But he will have to wait 30 days.
Turner shrugged. The past year has been his most challenging.
What’s another month?
