MUST Ministries plans to appeal a decision this week by Marietta's Board of Zoning Appeals that for now will not allow the nonprofit to build a new homeless shelter.
MUST wants to construct an expanded shelter at 1260 Cobb Parkway near Bells Ferry Road.
The nonprofit will appeal the decision to the city council on Sept. 13.
About the denial, according to MUST Ministries' CEO, "What we're talking about is 90 feet, in the overall context of having to be 750 feet away from the nearest residential property," Dr. Ike Reighard tells WSB. "If we move the building 90 feet, then we fit into what was already zoned for a homeless shelter."
Many Marietta residents however, have raised concern about what's happening at the current MUST homeless shelter on 55 Elizabeth Church Road - a re-purposed church near the Canton Road Connector. They say dozens of homeless men have been camping in the woods nearby, after getting free lunches and services from the shelter. Neighbors say many of the men drink alcohol or use drugs. That makes them ineligible to reside at the shelter.
Those residents say in some cases, the men have been threatening, with petty crime and littering in the area.
"They (residents) have a lot of things that are legitimate," says Reighard. "I wouldn't want it at my home, they don't want it at their home, but where are those people going to go? You can't just keep squeegeeing them into a different part of the county."
Reighard says it's a misnomer that if the MUST shelter refused services (free lunches, showers, clothes, social services) to the homeless, "that somehow this population would leave."
As it is, Reighard says his shelter's population is more than 70% women and children. And from 200 to 300 people are turned away every month.
The proposed shelter a half-mile away from the current one would increase the number of beds - from 72 to nearly 130. It would add more areas for families along with a wing for military vets.
In the bigger picture, Reighard says of the homelessness issue in Cobb County, "it's a whole lot bigger than MUST Ministries, and I would love for the county to help figure out a way for us to partner together along with other great agencies."
