Jeffersonville homeless displaced by bridge construction

http://www.whas11.com/news/Jeffersonville-homeless-displaced-by-bridge-construction-219030121.html

by Michelle Arnold
WHAS11.com
Posted on August 9, 2013 at 5:46 PM
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WHAS11) — “We just don’t have no place to go. That’s it; we have no place to go,” Mike McKell said.

McKell’s belongings are crammed underneath an I-65 viaduct. He, along with about 15 others, know they’ll soon have to leave.

“They’re just concerned what’s going to happen next. Where are we to go? Where are we supposed to go,” Jesus Cares for Exit 0 founder Paul Stensrud said.

Work is underway in Jeffersonville for the Ohio River Bridges Project and homeless encampments must be moved. Paul Stensrud, founder of Jesus Cares at Exit 0, is doing all he can to help the homeless find a home.

“We know it’s construction; someone could get hurt. We don’t want to see that happen. We’re on the same side of this state. We understand it’s a safety issue with the folks under the bridges right now,” Stensrud said.

Stensrud and other volunteers used to serve up to100 meals per day underneath the viaduct at Exit 0. Because of impending construction, he’s moving. Now he’s looking for a new spot to serve the people he now calls family.

“We are willing to use a parking lot. We just want to get out of this construction zone. We want to get out of this hot zone location. We don’t want them traveling through this hot zone with heavy equipment and everything,” Stensrud said.

But food isn’t his main ministry–getting the homeless off the street is. And local shelters are at capacity.

“We have no idea where we are gonna go. The Haven House is practically full,” McKell said.

“We roughly have until about the first week of September in order to get everybody relocated,” Stensrud said.

Stensrud met Thursday with project managers, the Indiana Department of Transportation, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, and the Jeffersonville Homeless Task Force to discuss how to resolve this issue. He says communication is key.

“I believe now people are starting to understand what the extent of homelessness we have. I don’t think they understood what we were dealing with because nobody really wanted to know,” Stensrud said.