Several times each week, from unknown corners of the community, homeless residents travel the sidewalks with their packs and bikes to Veterans Memorial Monument Park for a feeding ministry run by several Plant City churches.
Julia and Ron Dixon, of Restoring Hope Global, started the free initiative two years ago, at the park. As the ministry grew, more churches joined the cause and united under the name, “Friends in the Park.”
Rebecca Rothman involved her church, Plant City’s First Baptist Church, in the ministry by starting Monday night feedings.
“Our goal currently is to nourish the needy in our community by feeding them a warm meal and ministering to them through their physical needs,” Rothman said. “However, our main goal is to share the gospel of Christ with them which is the ‘bread of life.’”
Parent Dawn Doner, who lives less than a mile from the park, has watched the homeless travel to the park as she picks her two children up from school at 3:30 p.m.
In the past year, she’s noticed an increase in those attending the feeding. She also has noticed that many of the homeless tend to arrive long before the feeding and stay for hours after. Some never leave.
“They linger and they’re there three to four hours beforehand,” Doner said. “I drive by at night, and some are sleeping on the park benches.”
Because of this, Doner now takes her children to Gilchrist Park.
“I’m all about helping people in need but (don’t) do it in a public recreation place,” Doner said. “They should do it at one of their churches. It’s becoming a refuge for them now.”
Doner isn’t alone. Josh Kripas also stopped taking his 7-year-old daughter to the park about six months ago.
Kripas said some homeless residents have approached his daughter and used obscenities around children at the park. He also walked in on two of bathing in the bathroom.
“It’s a weird spot to feed the homeless,” Kripas said. “They should do it at the church — maybe after a service — instead of by a playground.”
Nearby, Kripas takes his daughter to Dance Connections studio. Because the homeless spend time at the park, he sees them during this time, as well.
Doner said it can get chaotic when students are going in and out of dance class, combined with all the people at the park for the meal.
Since the churches have become more organized in their feeding, the city has noticed a rise in complaints — but mostly for noise and the amount of people. The city hasn’t received any trash complaints or complaints about homeless approaching children, said City Manager Greg Horwedel.
“This is one of the reasons we have CRA officer, Clem Fiol, patrol the area, especially during meals,” Horwedel said. “We want to make sure people are using the park appropriately.”
CRA officers are responsible for patrolling areas of downtown specifically. Before Fiol, officer Mark Dunham was the CRA officer and had also been asked to supervise the meals.
“We always want to make sure the safety of the park is our No. 1 priority,” Horwedel said. “We want to make sure everyone who has a right to access the park can enjoy it.”
This includes the homeless ministry. According to city codes, the ministry doesn’t need a special events permit if the number of those attending doesn’t exceed 100 people.
Rothman recognizes the number of homeless residents has been growing. She joined Lighthouse Ministries to organize a task force to evaluate the needs in the area and begin creating resources, such as a shelter and rehab center.
“We want to first gather input and information from the Plant City community before any major works are put in motion,” Rothman said. “We are interested in hearing the concerns of residents. We want to maintain peace within the community.”
Rothman said she has heard complaints — but only enough to count on one hand.
“We receive much more positive feedback than negative,” Rothman said.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.