Homeless Shelter Approved by LC Zoning Board

With a 3-1 vote last night, the Lake Charles City Planning and Zoning Board approved to build and convert the property at 1017 6h Avenue into a homeless shelter. The building will be repurposed and expanded upon to be utilized as a supervised emergency shelter for the homeless. It will also be used for other related charitable purposes and have a warehouse for storage.

Residents around the shelter spoke up during the meeting about how placing this shelter in the neighborhood could drive down the property values in the area and suggested having it located elsewhere. Most residents agreed there is a need for such a facility, but not in a neighborhood.

The shelter will have multiple phases as it is renovated and built. At first, it will have up to 50 beds in its location and give the homeless a place to shower and sleep. The building was chosen out of three possibilities due to the fact that is has the ability to be expanded upon and offers the ability to fulfill the immediate need in short amount of time.

Not only will the shelter provide services to the homeless, but it will also be there to service the neighborhood it resides in which it resides. The proposal included that it will have laundry services and also provide job training. It will be managed 24 hours a day, seven days a week in order to keep the fear of violence and drugs at bay, which is another major concern of the residents in the surrounding neighborhood.