Bailey seeks North Main site for child care

Carl Bailey (T-G file photo) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

A local homeless advocate is asking the Shelbyville City Council Tuesday for the use of the old Child Development Center on North Main Street again -- this time, to use as a child care facility.

But some council members want to sell the property in question and put it on the tax rolls.

Last summer, Dr. Carl Bailey asked the city to rezone property on North Main for a proposed homeless shelter and child care center, but the council took issue with the location rather than the concept and did not give its approval.

But now that the shelter itself has gotten off the ground in a different location and is serving the homeless, Bailey said in a letter to the council that he wants to revisit the child care idea with the property at 106 N. Main.

The concept is to offer low cost child care services for primarily "at-or-below-poverty level" single parent families.

Bailey says that managing the child care costs would allow parents to seek employment and return to the role of a productive member of society as opposed to being a welfare recipient.

He added that following discussions with the state's department of Children's Services, "we believe there is a strategy available for the provision of child care for about $50 per week."

"With this reduced payment structure, the 'at-or-below-poverty level' community will be able to seek employment with the ultimate goal of returning to a fruitful and productive place in society," Bailey said.

But councilman Al Stephenson said that the city "needs to get together with the county and sell it," referring to the property Bailey wants to utilize.

The city and county jointly own the building that once housed the Child Development Center.

Council member Kay Rose mentioned that the reason the building is no longer in use was due to "fire issues" a decade or more ago.

City manager Ed Craig told the council there had been discussions about selling the deep but narrow lot, but to do so with a neighboring piece of property that has been bequeathed to the county's library, but is still held by the current owners.

The idea was to combine the sale of the two parcels when the second one became available "and get a much greater bang for our buck," Craig said.

"I agree it ought to be sold," Craig said.

Bailey explained that in its first two months, the newly formed CROSS (Community Religious Outreach Social Services) shelter has served six children, eight women and 18 men, as well as two of the six families that requested assistance.

He added that families are harder to serve due to the shelter's space limitations, but they can currently hold a total of 20 people.

While the mission of the shelter is primarily focused on sheltering, feeding and rehabilitation, Bailey said CROSS also provides limited shelter and food for homeless transients when requested by law enforcement.

Bailey pointed out four success stories they've had in the two months the shelter has been in operation, men that have been retrained, found jobs and have now moved into their own residences "as fruitful and contributing member of the community."

CROSS is also working on expanding its service program and wishes to form a collaborative effort with area churches to provide a community food distribution operation by consolidating the individual actions of many churches.

Another idea is the development of a partnership with utility service providers where CROSS could serve as a referral service for churches. Bailey said that rising utility costs "are now frequently instrumental in causing homelessness."

The service would review and screen applicants to pick those that match critical family profiles indicating the highest needed for financial assistance in getting utilities turned on and maintained.

Bailey also said that CROSS has been providing a ride to work program and there will be a projected need for the program as the shelter capacity grows.

One more idea Bailey wrote about is the new Shelbyville Garden of Life program. Working with members of the community and participating churches, the program has the goal of growing food for the shelters and the hungry of Bedford County.

"This program was formed as a result of the strong belief that economic conditions will get worse before they get better," Bailey said.