Rice, New Life end pursuit of federal building for homeless shelter

Stymied by a court decision earlier this month, the Rev. Larry Rice and his New Life Evangelistic Center are ending their legal battle over the acquisition of the former federal courthouse building at 339 Broadway.

But Rice, a controversial advocate for the homeless who has characterized his detractors and opponents as bigots, railed against Cape Girardeau-area leaders and what he sees as their prejudice against the homeless.

At a news conference Wednesday, Rice said the homeless assistance organization will not appeal the Dec. 1 decision by a federal judge that effectively denied New Life's claim to the property. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's ruling dismissed New Life's challenge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 2009 decision not to give the building to the not-for-profit, saying the arguments were without merit.

"I think the big losers in this are the people of Cape Girardeau, [in] having a place for people end up homeless, hurting or need of long-term shelter," said Rice, New Life's founder and director.

New Life's Homeless Outreach Center and Thrift Store at 707 Broadway provides temporary housing for displaced people. The original plan in acquiring the courthouse was to expand services to include long-term transitional housing beds for up to six months for 125 people per year, drawing from a 22-county area in Southeast Missouri.

Rice said the outreach center will make do and expand services as resources become available, principally through its thrift sales.

New Life, a multistate religious organization, first filed an application to take over the 42,000-square-foot federal building in 2009. The application generated a wave of community opposition led by then-Mayor Jay Knudtson.

'Greatly overestimated'

In a letter rejecting Rice's application for a second time, Paul S. Bartley, director of the federal government's Program Support Center, cited a lack of firm relationships with other service providers, an overly ambitious program and inadequate finances as reasons for rejecting New Life's application again.

" ... it is clear that [New Life Evangelistic Center] has greatly overestimated the size of the homeless population and the need for the proposed program," Bartley wrote.

The Rev. Deborah Young, director of the outreach center, said the homeless shelter has served about 200 people over the past two months.

Rice said some Cape Girardeau residents, particularly some of its leaders, deny there is a homeless problem in the city.

"As long as you don't provide the services and drive them out of town, you don't think you've got them, but they're here," he said, charging that homelessness is the "new N-word" in a community he charges is prejudiced against its poorest residents.

Rice has made similar charges in other communities where there has been opposition to his plans. Such was the case in Springfield, Mo., where New Life acquired a former Social Security building through the federal government's surplus building program and turned it into a homeless center. Rice said the shelter now serves 100 displaced people a day on a temporary basis.

Rice's group has made and faced its share of controversy. There have been questions about the financial strength of New Life. According to its 2008 audit, the most recent listed on the organization's website, New Life reported $4.764 million in total assets, considerably lower than the $40 million-plus the ministry once boasted. And New Life's homeless shelters in other communities have been the sites of reported violent crimes, including a chain saw attack, sexual assault and a fatal stabbing.

County interest

The judge's ruling clears the way for the Cape Girardeau County Commission to acquire the property, perhaps to replace the Common Pleas Courthouse, which is more than 150 years old, and the courthouse annex on Lorimier Street. Commissioner Paul Koeper said earlier this week he doesn't expect the county to reach a decision on the property for at least a month. Koeper did not return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger said he's pleased to hear Rice is ending his legal challenge and that the former federal building was not the right place for a homeless shelter.

"That's a good decision for our city," he said. "Now we can move ahead with whatever plans anybody might have for that building."

Rediger said Cape Girardeau is in need of homeless shelter services. A shelter on South Sprigg Street is planned to be operational early in 2011.

mkittle@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

707 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO

339 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO