Emotions ran high Thursday evening as Olde Towne Slidell residents met with representatives of Community Christian Concern about the impending expansion of the Miramon Center, a transitional men’s housing facility.

“I grew up here, and I am very emotionally tied to Olde Towne,” said Sam Caruso Jr. “I used to enjoy my walks here, but I won’t be doing that anymore if you can’t guarantee my safety.”

At issue is CCC’s plan to renovate and expand the center, which first opened on the ground floor of a former furniture store on Carey Street about a year before Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. It offered short-term housing to men who have through various circumstances fallen on hard times and are unable to pay rent or a mortgage note.

Housed in a former furniture store, the Miramon Center sits approximately 300 feet from the newly renovated Brock Elementary School on Carey Street in Olde Towne Slidell. (Staff Photo by Anne Lautzenheiser)

An average of five to seven men were lodged in the facility at any given time, sleeping on bunk beds and sharing a kitchen. In addition, the El Bethel Apostolic Church conducted services in another part of the 15,000-square-foot building.

While the church has resumed operations since the storm, the men’s shelter has remained in limbo, until a $250,000 grant was awarded last August that will go towards its renovation and expansion. Once the process is complete, CCC plans to house from 15 to 20 men on the upper floor of the building.

An occupancy permit lists the capacity of the building at 70, however, and CCC executive director, the Rev. Eugene Wellington feels there may have been some miscommunication as to the number that would actually be housed at the center.

“That is the maximum number of persons allowed in the building at any given time,” said Wellington. “It is listed for purposes of meeting fire codes, but that is not the number we are going to have living there.”

Of particular concern is the close proximity of the newly renovated Brock Elementary School, which lies about 300 feet to the north of the facility. School board officials and residents alike express concern for the safety of the children who attend the school, and many feel there will not be enough security measures in place.

Wellington emphatically points out that background checks are performed, as well as routine drug testing. The men don’t take up residence at the center until those tests and checks are complete. In addition, a 24-hour house monitor will be in place, while board members and CCC volunteers will check in regularly.

These measures were put in place when the center first opened, and will continue to be implemented, said Wellington. In addition, men who live at the center must have a reference from their employer or church, and there are rules against loitering or loud music.

Residents are still not convinced the center is right for their community. Since the area has been awarded a Main Street designation and named a cultural district, some serious efforts have been made to revitalize the area. The reopening of Brock was seen as a way to elevate the level of the neighborhood, not just the school, with the idea it might become a magnet for arts education.

St. Tammany School Board member Ray Alfred, whose district includes Brock, Riverside Elementary, Alton Elementary, St. Tammany Junior High and Slidell Pathways, was at the meeting, and he expressed his discomfort with the idea. Also concerned was Brock Principal Rose Smith, who said she and other school board officials were unaware the center was moving forward until quite recently.

Olde Towne Slidell Residents Association President Andy Prude, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1996, said residents might not have so many objections with the center if it were more family-oriented, and not limited to men.

“I’ve spoken to several law enforcement officers and former FBI agents,” said Prude. “They tell me whenever there is a sexual offense, the first place they look is a men’s shelter.”

Prude said while many residents would prefer for the center to not reopen in Olde Towne at all, another option might be to have a professional management company oversee its operation.

Many nonprofit groups and social service agencies have set up shop in the neighborhood in recent years, drawn by low costs and few zoning restrictions.

The area is zoned C-2, or neighborhood-commercial, and has been that way for decades. Slidell Mayor Ben Morris, who moved to the area in the mid-1970s, said the designation has been in place at least that long.

“This was the heart of the Slidell business district, and people built their homes along the outskirts,” he said. “You can build a home or put in a sewing shop and it’s perfectly legal.”

Once a business or other operation is permitted, the zoning can’t be reassigned. CCC has received its permit, and Northshore Disaster Recovery Inc. has committed to providing volunteer help to complete the renovations. Should CCC relocate the center, the grant money will be forfeited, which would make it next to impossible to resume operations.

Wellington hopes those residents that have concerns will try to work with his board members to reach a compromise. He said the center could also be used to house first responders in the event of another disaster, or to house the elderly and infirm during an extended power outage due to severe weather.

During the time the center was in operation, Wellington said there had never been a single incident or episode of trouble.

“These are hard-working men who need a place to stay while they save money to find permanent housing,” he said. “People want me to guarantee their safety, but I can’t do that, anymore than you can guarantee your neighbor will not turn into a drug addict or become a sex offender.”