The Fielder Center will NOT be used as a temporary homeless shelter as first reported.
On Monday, the Rome City Commission approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Way, Salvation Army, Hospitality House, and the Davies Shelters, the original draft of which designated the Fielder Center as a temporary shelter for men and Legacy Church on Avenue A as a shelter for women and children.
However, after the meeting, an offer from property owner John Cowan to use the former Chapel Hill United Methodist Church at Kingston Highway and the bypass was accepted.
During the called Rome City Commission meeting, Lynn Rousseau with Hospitality House discussed the need.
“Part of the issue with this particular virus is that we are asking people to shelter in place,” she said. “People who are newly homeless or have been homeless throughout this period don’t have anywhere to shelter in place. So, they are possibly exposing the community on a daily basis. You also don’t want to overfill the Davies Shelters, the Salvation Army, or our shelter because the more people you have in a closed environment, the higher the risk of contagion is.
Again, the Fielder Center will not be used, as John Cowan stepped forward with a donation of his property at Kingston Highway and the bypass.
The temporary shelter is expected to be open for about 90 days.