The final community meeting before the Calvary Lutheran shelter moves into the vacant Calvary Lutheran Church building saw neighbors divided over welcoming the 20-person SHARE shelter and addressing perceived shortcomings on the part of SHARE and the shelter's host, Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church.

About 50 people attended the May 20 meeting. Some came to welcome the shelter's residents, but the most vocal attendees came to voice concerns about safety and accountability.

Residents remained upset over SHARE's refusal to conduct background checks, specifically for Level 3 sex offenders.

SHARE conducts background checks for its tent cities but not for its indoor shelters.

Our Redeemer Pastor Steve Grumm said he, and the members of the Our Redeemer congregation who voted to host the shelter, are satisfied by SHARE's screening practices and self-policing procedures.

Shelter residents screen prospective residents downtown before allowing them to join the shelter and make sure other shelter residents are following the rules, such as completing chores and maintaining sobriety.

"We believe that the SHARE men in this shelter are safe," Grumm said at the meeting. "Safe for themselves and safe for you."

A handful of residents expressed dismay at what they saw as neglect and poor management on the part of Our Redeemer toward the Calvary Lutheran property.

They said poor upkeep of the building and problems with the meal services that are run out if it have plagued the neighborhood. They wanted to know who would be accountable for problems at the shelter and who could be called about those problems.

Grumm said there will be representatives from Our Redeemer at Calvary Lutheran every night to meet the shelter residents as they arrive. A task force of neighbors and Our Redeemer members will meet regularly to discuss how the shelter is going.

Shelter residents themselves will conduct hourly patrols of the neighborhood between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.

One shelter resident apologized for the poor experience the neighborhood has had with meal programs in the past, but asked neighbors to remember that the SHARE residents are a small and different section of the large number of homeless people in the city.

While not as vocal as the concerned residents, a number of residents expressed their welcome to the residents of the shelter. Interest in community-building events, such as dinners or game nights, with shelter residents was expressed.

"Everyone deserves a roof over their head," said one neighbor. "I'm really glad you're going to be in our neighborhood. I want to say loud and clear that there are a lot of people who welcome you here."

Two representatives from current SHARE shelter hosts, one for three years and one for 16 years, talked about how positive the experience has been. They said shelter residents have acted professionally, going so far as to shut themselves down for two months when they felt they weren't living up to neighborhood expectations, and have even helped with gardening.

Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said at the meeting that SHARE is successful and has no problems with any of its host churches. It is safer for the neighborhood and the shelter residents to have the 20 men in Calvary Lutheran than sleeping in a park.

The Calvary Lutheran shelter will be moving into the Calvary Lutheran Church building at 7002 23rd Ave. N.W. on June 1.