Losing everything: Ministry says it wants to be notified before homeless clean-ups

JEFFERSONVILLE — When you don’t own much, losing something important is even more difficult.

That’s why a local ministry — Jesus Cares at Exit 0 — is trying to work with the city of Jeffersonville on how it goes about cleaning up after area homeless people. The group wants notification before the Jeffersonville Street Department goes through to clean up areas, primarily beneath Interstate 65, where homeless residents sleep.

Lost in the sweeps are family heirlooms or items that a homeless person has held onto from their past, said John Mustain, a volunteer with the group, who recently appealed to the Jeffersonville City Council for help. In some instances, identifying documents — like birth certificates or state IDs — have been lost as a result of the sweeps.

Losing such items can often be detrimental to those seeking to get back on their feet, said Paul Strensrud, the ministry’s founder. It can hinder their efforts to get a job or get assistance such as food stamps from the state. If those documents are lost, he said it can often take months or sometimes years to get the documentation that would allow them to get a new ID or a new birth certificate.

“We’re trying to plug them into the system,” Strensrud said. “These are the problems we face.”

The ministry has been around for the last three years, operating primarily in the I-65 area near exit 0. They provide assistance to about 30 individuals, though not all of them live beneath the bridge.

Normally, he said, the biggest clean up effort takes place in April — just before tens of thousands flock to the downtown area for Thunder Over Louisville. With notification of pending sweeps, volunteers could pass on the information to the homeless so they won’t leave important documents lying around.

“Hey, just contact us before you’re going to do it,” said Strensrud. “We’re praying this will get us on the same page.”

The council took no action on the matter when volunteers appealed last week. However, they did advise the group to get in touch with the street department.

Streets and Sanitation Commissioner David Hosea said he’s heard the pleas. His plan is to start doing sweeps every Friday, so they at least know it’s coming.

“During the winter, I kind of let that go,” he said.

The Friday sweeps will start once the weather warms up.

“I’ll let them know when I’m going to do it,” he said.

Hosea said city street department workers wouldn’t throw away IDs on purpose. For the most part, his crews are cleaning up cardboard or old blankets.

“If we’d seen [IDs], we’d of left them,” he said.

Jesus Cares at Exit 0 does most of its work — serving meals and handing out blankets — along Broadway Street, just beneath I-65. However, it’s now trying to open a community center at the old J & J Video building on Michigan Avenue.

The center would give the homeless a place to do laundry, use a computer to apply for jobs and services and get out of the elements for a while. That community center proposal goes before the Jeffersonville Plan Commission on Feb. 28.

Further, the group has an informational meeting on homelessness planned for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Park Memorial Methodist Church, 1820 E. Park Place, Jeffersonville. The meeting is supposed to be an opportunity for those interested in the issue of homelessness to share ideas, concerns and work toward solutions. For more information email info@jesuscaresatexit0.org.