Jan. 22 forum will focus on homelessness in Jeffersonville, Clarksville

PUBLISHED BY: Courier Journal

The Jeffersonville-Clarksville Homelessness Task Force will have its first public forum later this month.

Residents of both communities are invited to attend to discuss the issue of homelessness during the forum, which starts at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 22 in the council chambers at Jeffersonville City Hall, 500 Quartermaster Court.

Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore announced the task force last month following harsh criticism the city received after city workers cleared homeless camps near the Interstate 65 overpass off Court Avenue.

Moore suspended the city’s longstanding practice of homeless “sweeps” until the task force can examine its policy and make recommendations to city leaders.

In an interview Friday at City Hall, Moore said he hopes to bring together everyone who’s interested in combating homelessness for a series of in-depth discussions that leads to action.

“Those people don’t want to be living by the overpass,” he said.

Moore said officials with the mental health provider LifeSpring Inc. have agreed to join in the discussion.

And he’s hoping to include many others, such as: Paul and Michele Stensrud, who started the homeless ministry, Jesus Cares at Exit 0, a few years ago to help local homeless people; Wilma Sadler-Morton, who coordinates Gilt Edge Baptist Church’s weekday King’s Table lunch in the Claysburg neighborhood; and Barbara Anderson, who leads the Haven House homeless shelter in Jeffersonville.

Moore said he believes everyone trying to help the homeless “have their hearts in the right place. We have the volunteers and resources to make a big difference in this issue.”

Moore said homelessness isn’t confined to Jeffersonville’s boundaries, which is why he wants to develop a regional plan to better address the issue.

Clarksville leaders also have agreed to join, but New Albany officials weren’t interested, Moore said.