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 maintenance concerns affecting sidewalks, glass in the streets and tree roots.

Commissioners used the discussion to emphasize the limits of city authority and the need for multi-agency cooperation. Commissioner Clark Griffin, who represents the Fourth Ward, urged empathy and cautioned that abruptly moving people from an outdoor location to another outdoor site could worsen outcomes for people with trauma or mental-health needs. “When you move someone out of their home, a lot of these people are dealing with trauma and all kinds of things,” Griffin said.

Mayor Mohammed announced steps intended to coordinate services and reduce immediate risk. The mayor said the city manager and he would meet with the Salvation Army and other partners and that the city is in talks to place unhoused people in existing shelter capacity when possible. He also established an ad hoc committee to work on homelessness response, naming Commissioner Clark Griffin, Commissioner Santana Warren and Commissioner Ron Singleton to the group and asked for participation from the public-safety chair and service providers.

City Manager Alex Little described operational constraints that complicate short-term responses, including limited shelter capacity and delays in finding disposal or staging space for leaves and debris from public-works operations. “The landfill won't take in leaves anymore, and we had to clean up all of the stuff that was behind public works,” Little said when answering an unrelated question about city leaf collection. He said staff were seeking property owners willing to allow temporary staging as the city develops options.

Multiple speakers — including local clergy and volunteers — offered to host or convene planning meetings. Pastor Palmer invited the commission and stakeholders to a community meeting at Bethel Restoration Christian Church this Thursday at 6 p.m. Several commissioners said they would attend or support stakeholder meetings.

The mayor and commissioners repeatedly framed the problem as broader than the city alone and called for partnerships with nonprofits, faith groups and county or state agencies. Commissioner Ron Singleton urged community-wide engagement and said existing shelter rules or behavioral restrictions sometimes prevent people from using shelter beds.

The ad hoc committee will meet with local service providers and report back to the full commission, according to the mayor’s appointment. The commission did not adopt a new ordinance or vote on a relocation plan at the meeting.

The meeting record shows continuing attention: the mayor noted an upcoming meeting with the Salvation Army and signaled that longer-term housing projects — including a planned Wall Street project with apartments and social-services offices — are intended to expand capacity for services.

The commission encouraged residents to participate in the planning meeting and to remain engaged through future commission and committee meetings.