Texas
Related: About this forumIn Dallas, Churches Break the Law to Shelter Homeless People on Freezing Nights
By Michael BarajasThe 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 churchs doors on nights when temperatures could be fatally coldand shes tried to team up with other faith leaders to build a broader pop-up network. But shes faced a persistent roadblock: In Dallas, its 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/
CatMor
(6,212 posts)the safety of the homeless in freezing weather should be a priority.
3Hotdogs
(12,207 posts)Karadeniz
(22,267 posts)CaptYossarian
(6,448 posts)At least when the Grinches show up.
TexasTowelie
(111,292 posts)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)A long-term one would be having the preachers not hammer the congregation to vote GOP. Then the ridiculous law might change.
LeftInTX
(24,548 posts)When the church is full and the weather is nice you will see them sleeping outside on the grounds.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=1440
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/05/16/san-antonio-offers-asylum-seekers-first-glimpse-into-better-life/