When Good Shepherd Alliance social services director Janice King met Sterling resident Dean Akbar, he was living out of his car. His only option was to spend the night at a homeless shelter in Lucketts, one hour from his job in Sterling. The shelter’s rules and bus schedule were not conducive to Akbar’s schedule.
"I was late the first day on the job," Akbar said. "I can’t afford to lose my job."
The Good Shepherd Alliance, a Christian organization that serves Loudoun’s homeless population, and the faith-based community took it upon them to search for options.
Luckett's Elijah Gate Christian Center opened its doors to Loudoun's homeless in January, but the Rev. John Ohmer of St. James Episcopal Church said there's more work to be done.
Ohmer said he would like to be able to open St. James' doors to the homeless at night, but waited for the approval of the Leesburg Town Council.
Mark Gunderman, vice chairman of the Good Shepherd Alliance, said the county’s warming shelters are located outside of the Town of Leesburg, however, the majority of Loudoun’s homeless population lives in town.
"Why do we have this mind-set?" he said at a meeting in January. "We want to keep the homeless people far away.
AFTER FIVE MONTHS of back-and-forth e-mails and deliberation, the Leesburg Town Council passed an ordinance that would allow churches and private schools to establish warming and cooling shelters on their property.
While Leesburg Town Council member Ken Reid agreed with the warming shelter coalition, he said he did not feel comfortable regulating what a church can and cannot do with its property.
"A church, synagogue, mosque, any house of worship, should be able to open its doors to anybody in need of shelter," he said.
But there were some concerns about neighbors.
In order to apply for a permit to house a shelter, a church or building must post a sign on its property 14 days prior to the application process. If anyone objects to the warming shelter, the application will go to review by the Town Council. If no one objects, the permit will be granted to the church or school. The permit is good for one year and can be renewed.
Before the vote, Reid visited the homeless shelter in Lucketts.
"These men and women are not a danger," he said. "The police know about them. They are just men and women who need a second chance."
THE ORDINANCE passed would allow churches and schools to open their doors by mid-February.
In the meantime, the Good Shepherd Alliance will continue to let men and women sleep in its Leesburg office during the night, on a temporary basis.
The organization turned its small office, located off of Sycolin Road in Leesburg, a small, into a warming shelter because there was no other place to send the homeless people at its doorstep.
Oftentimes, Gunderman said, the Good Shepherd Alliance employees have to wake up men and women who spent the night in their office space.
"It’s not fair," he said, "but we do it because we have to."
Reid received a phone call Saturday from a friend looking for a place for someone to sleep.
"It’s clear there is a need," he said. "It would be a lot easier if there was shelter in downtown Leesburg."