Friday, July 14, 2006

3CDC in OTR

Interesting interview in the Business Courier with former 3CDC OTR lead, Des Bracey.

He has left town, but the most interesting take on OTR is his contention that the Drop Inn Center could/should stay in OTR, just in a different place:
Q: Where is there work still to be done?

A: The Drop Inn Center. We've tried real hard to work with them and be open and transparent and find ways where their mission and our mission would co-exist and be achieved. I don't think we're there yet.

The problem of homelessness is much more than an Over-the-Rhine problem. The solution there probably necessitates a citywide response.

Q: Do you mean moving the Drop Inn Center, which is located near Music Hall and Washington Park?

A: I think the solution will be in a new facility for the Drop Inn Center. A 200- or 300-space on-site shelter is not the best way to provide homeless services. But that new facility should be in Over-the-Rhine and could be right there in Over-the-Rhine. It will need more staff and more resources and will require the Drop Inn Center to change the way they do business as well.
The Drop Inn Center needs to move out of OTR, and most certainly away from Music Hall and pending new SCPA. It contributes far too much to the crime problems in OTR, and is the source of most of the pandhandling problem.

City Link may have been a start, but failed with the Nimby effect. Why not build the new jail, with the Drop Inn Center near by? Sounds cruel? Well, it is, but those who will not play along with the basic society shouldn't be afford with as much consideration as those who make an honest attempt to get along with the society at large.

The con to the Jail next to the Drop Inn Center idea is likely that the homeless who would go to the Drop Inn Center want to stay clear of the jail at all costs. They likely wouldn't face any more police attention then they do now, but they would likely percieve they would, keeping them away.

A large part of the perception game of safety in Downtown and OTR is getting the bums out. When I say bums, please understand that I literally mean the bums. Moving the Drop Inn Center would have the biggest impact on changing the perception of living/working/playing downtown as well as the reality of it.

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