Benton Harbor residents, faith leaders press city for coordinated homelessness plan; mayor creates ad hoc committee

Pastor Andre Palmer of Bethel Restoration Christian Church and several residents urged the City of Benton Harbor Commission on Tuesday to coordinate a community response to people sleeping in City Center Park and other downtown locations.

The appeals came during the public comment period at the commission meeting, where speakers described safety, health and winter-shelter concerns and proposed local, church-led meetings to develop solutions. Pastor Palmer said the people who congregate downtown are “our people, our relatives, our folk who congregate down here at the City Center Park.”

The issue surfaced repeatedly in public comment. Corey Burton, founder of Grounded Incorporation, described the planned relocation of people to a 50-by-90-foot driveway near Bethel Restoration and a liquor store as “proactive and not reactive” and questioned the safety and sustainability of moving people outdoors as winter approaches. Tom Hart, Mary Harris and others raised public-safety and…