Center of Hope breaks ground, meets opposition
By Lynn Wolstenholme
As the Good Shepherd Alliance broke ground Oct. 22 for its new Center of Hope in Ashburn, representatives of the nonprofit group were met with not only a lot of encouragement, but also some opposition.
After reading about the center that will provide services for the county's homeless, Ashburn resident Melanie Bancroft attended the groundbreaking ceremony to voice her concerns regarding its location. Bancroft brought with her a petition she says contains about 100 signatures from neighbors.
Center of Hope is not a homeless shelter. Once built -- by the beginning of next year, as planned by Good Shepherd board members -- it will provide a drop-in center and thrift store to the homeless, and become administrative offices for GSA. The new center will consolidate the thrift store, now based in Sterling, with offices in Leesburg at a more centralized location.
“I like this group,” Bancroft said. “But this effort is misguided. It is creating a problem where one doesn't exist.”
Bancroft fears, she said, that some of those who will visit the center will end up loitering in the close-by Ashburn neighborhood.
“Look at who makes up the population,” Bancroft said. “Those with addictions -- alcohol and drugs -- mental illness, and now those on parole leave are being processed.”
The center is next to the Ashburn Volunteer Fire Station and "a stone's throw" from Bancroft's house.
“This is a residential area. Why in the world? What were they thinking about? We are the kindergarten capital of the world,” Bancroft said.
The 1.2-acre Center of Hope property is zoned for commercial use, and the center is being built according to county plans.
GSA executive director Lyle Werner is offended by Bancroft's comments about the "'type" of people the center would serve.
“Homeless people are no different than anyone else," Werner said. "She obviously has no knowledge of the homeless in our community.”
Werner said the Loudoun homeless community does not fit into the national stereotype of the homeless.
“They are not all drug addicts and alcoholics,” Werner said, adding that more people are in need because of bank foreclosures on houses, especially in the Ashburn area. Werner said that background checks are run on everyone in the center, even the volunteers.
“The center does take the destitute, the sick, the hurt, the abused, the unloved,” said Mark Gunderman, vice chair of the GSA board of directors. “Some are on the edge, but not all of them.”
“Many are single mothers with children,” Gunderman added. “Some of the men live in cars but have jobs. They are working and need services.”
Gunderman said last year 350 people lived in the three GSA homeless shelters, which are in Ashburn, Leesburg and Purcellville.
“When they need clothes, we give them clothes. When they need food, we give them food. We register the children in public schools. But everyone has to show improvement to stay in the shelters,” Gunderman said.
“[The homeless] are there,” Gunderman said. “Why do people think they don't exist?”
Bancroft said she will continue to get her petition against the location of the center signed by more residents, and she planned to speak about the issue at the Ashburn Village Homeowners Association meeting Oct. 23.
Contact the reporter at lwolstenholme@timespapers.com