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TexasTowelie

(111,292 posts)
Tue Dec 17, 2019, 07:49 PM Dec 2019

In Dallas, Churches Break the Law to Shelter Homeless People on Freezing Nights

By Michael Barajas


The first night of a punishing cold front in January 2018, two people living on the streets of South Dallas died. Others camping underneath the same highway overpass as Jesse Johnson Jr., 69, remembered him as a nice guy who mostly kept to himself. Less than a mile away, a man found Donna Bannister, 58, near her wheelchair on the floor of a bus stop shelter; he told WFAA it appeared she had “frozen to death.”

Rachel Baughman, senior pastor at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas, recalled the news as “one of those situations that hits you in the face.” Bannister and Johnson both died within a block of a church.

For the past three years, Baughman has opened her church’s doors on nights when temperatures could be fatally cold—and she’s tried to team up with other faith leaders to build a broader “pop-up” network. But she’s faced a persistent roadblock: In Dallas, it’s against the law. Chapter 51A of the Dallas Development Code bans overnight shelters within 1,000 feet of a church, school, park, or other entity, preventing places of worship and virtually anyone else from offering aid.

Still, some churches choose to take a risk. Wayne Walker, executive director of homeless resource and outreach center OurCalling, says some churches and organizations provide shelter “under the radar” to avoid trouble. On a cold night in February 2018, a month after Bannister and Johnson died, Walker received a code violation for keeping his center open for people without shelter. He hung the letter on the wall in his office.

Read more: https://www.texasobserver.org/dallas-churches-homeless/
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In Dallas, Churches Break the Law to Shelter Homeless People on Freezing Nights (Original Post) TexasTowelie Dec 2019 OP
What a ridiculous law ... CatMor Dec 2019 #1
What don't you understand. Dallas is in the Republican State of Texas. 3Hotdogs Dec 2019 #3
Moral law supercedes civil law...remember the man leaving water for immigrants? Karadeniz Dec 2019 #2
What if the homeless cleaned the church and offices? They could be considered employees. CaptYossarian Dec 2019 #4
Liability concerns, paperwork and tax considerations. TexasTowelie Dec 2019 #5
No simple solutions here. CaptYossarian Dec 2019 #6
We have a church that allows asylum seekers to stay on their grounds LeftInTX Dec 2019 #7

CaptYossarian

(6,448 posts)
4. What if the homeless cleaned the church and offices? They could be considered employees.
Tue Dec 17, 2019, 11:12 PM
Dec 2019

At least when the Grinches show up.

TexasTowelie

(111,292 posts)
5. Liability concerns, paperwork and tax considerations.
Tue Dec 17, 2019, 11:36 PM
Dec 2019

If they become classified as employees then the church would have to meet federal minimum wage laws, pay the employer share of Social Security taxes, pay FICA taxes, etc. There would also be a need to pay additional workers compensation premiums for all of the new employees. The churches obviously don't have the HR personnel to handle the paperwork to do this for a short-term fix. The solution isn't as simple as saying that the homeless are new employees.

CaptYossarian

(6,448 posts)
6. No simple solutions here.
Wed Dec 18, 2019, 09:47 AM
Dec 2019

A long-term one would be having the preachers not hammer the congregation to vote GOP. Then the ridiculous law might change.

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