Safe Haven hasn’t found a soft spot to land as of yet, and they’re holding a meeting for their supporters Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the southeast corner of West Side Park. Safe Haven asks that you attend if you’re interested in learning what you can do to help them. From the meeting announcement: “We will have a strategic plan with different avenues for action so that you can determine how you fit into our plans for the future, and we welcome creativity and initiative as we begin to craft a community-wide campaign.” Please consider attending.
Over the weekend, the Safe Haven Tent Community relocated to Tin Cup Campground in Mahomet to regroup after being forced to leave their Champaign location (a vacant lot behind the Catholic Worker house) because they were in violation of the local zoning ordinance. The News-Gazette reported on their move this morning. But their stay at Tin Cup was brief.
“Safe Haven members and guests moved into Tin Cup on Saturday afternoon, expecting to have a few weeks of peace and secure housing while they worked with the City of Champaign on their
long-term plans for an open-air transitional community,” Safe Haven organizer Abby Harmon related.
“Unfortunately, two guests, acting outside of the rule-bound structure of Safe Haven, panhandled in Tin Cup Campground,” Harmon continued. “Once this situation became apparent to Safe Haven members, these guests were removed from the campground and banned from Safe Haven per their standard security procedures. Despite Safe Haven’s efforts to exact their own security, the manager of Tin Cup Campground requested that the group as a whole leave the site. Safe Haven honored the camp manager’s wishes.”
So, now Safe Haven is on the move again, staying in an undisclosed location for a couple of days to regroup. Representatives will be presenting a statement and proposal at the Champaign City Council’s regular meeting tonight at 7 p.m.
Safe Haven is made up of imperfect people, but their goal of a self-governing community is noble and deserves consideration.
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If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:
Heather Dillon’s Safe Haven series: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3
Neil Parthun of the Public i provided an update late last week