LAKELAND, Fla. — Every night, cots are placed in the dining room of Talbot House Ministries to accommodate the influx of people coming through their doors.
“Right now, Talbot House uses these two spaces in the dining room area for overflow, overnight housing,” said Maria Cruz, Talbot House executive director.
The Lakeland nonprofit provides emergency shelter to 220 to 250 people, and those numbers continue to grow.
WATCH: Lakeland homeless shelter plans to move to Memorial Blvd. has businesses concerned
“The homeless population has grown and has changed. We have many individuals coming through our doors that have employment. Mom and dad with children that don't have any place to go. We have the elderly and disabled living on Social Security and retirement income and they cannot afford housing,” said Cruz.
Talbot House is proposing to relocate from downtown to a larger facility on East Memorial Boulevard, on land that an anonymous donor purchased. The two-story, 58,000-square-foot building will offer expanded shelter space, medical and employment services.
“The major benefit of this expansion is going to be the potential expansion of our free clinic to the entire community. Currently we serve the community, but we are limited in space. Our vision for the future is to have a walk-in clinic and have a fully functional center of services as people walk into our doors,” said Cruz.
However, some nearby businesses are concerned about loitering, which they say is already an issue.
“People begging for money, sleeping on my benches. We already have that problem and I'm very afraid that that’s going to bring more of a problem,” said Traci Lahman Hughes.
Thursday, ABC Action News reported that Lakeland leaders are planning to revitalize Memorial Boulevard to spur economic growth. Hughes, who owns Jimbo’s Pit Bar BQ, said a homeless shelter is not what she envisioned as part of those plans.
“I really had high hopes for businesses to move in and the area to get cleaned up. Property values go up, get more business in the area, and that’s not the thing that’s going to get us more business,” Hughes said.
A zoning change proposal must be approved by Lakeland’s Planning and Zoning Board before the project can move forward.
"Conversations are going to be needed. Integration with law enforcement agencies, which we have right now. Community stakeholders, churches, partners, neighbors, we can work together to make this community and relocation a remarkable success,” said Cruz.
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