FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – Neighbors have fewer than 20 days to weigh in before a scheduled Sept. 1 council vote on funding for the proposed downtown anchor resource center.
A comment that sparked a closer look
During the council debate, Councilman Geoff Paddock (D-5th District) described a visit to the area near the proposed shelter site at 333 E. Washington Blvd.
“We were looking outside and seeing just exactly where this facility is from their church, from their school, from their pastors, from their parishioners,” Paddock said. “Right outside in the alley behind us, people were beginning to congregate because they didn’t have a place to go.”
That comment led 21Alive News reporter Tom Powell to First Wayne Street United Methodist Church, which sits directly across from Citizens Square and shares an alley with the proposed shelter site.
‘Constant need’ outside the window
Inside the church, Rev. Angelo Mante runs Alive Community Outreach from his office…