OKTIBBEHA COUNTY — A newly emerged nonprofit organization is lobbying the board of supervisors for funds for a community homeless shelter.

As Starkville and Oktibbeha County continue to see the homeless population grow throughout the community, “The Village,” a recently formed spinoff committee from community group Starkville Strong, wants to turn the old West Oktibbeha County High School building into transitional housing for those experiencing homelessness. This group began less than a week ago as a Facebook group, led by Starkville Strong member Cate Van Halsema, and is in the process of attaining 501(c)3 status from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office.

State Rep. Cheikh Taylor (D, Starkville) approached Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Superintendent Eddie Peasant a few weeks ago about the potential sale of the Sixteenth Section Land that encompasses the former West Oktibbeha County High School located in Maben. Taylor and Van Halsema visited the property soon after to observe the condition and layout of the old school.

Due to recent events throughout the city creating a larger homeless population, such as evictions of residents of the apartment complex on Catherine Street in Starkville, Van Halsema said this property could be utilized as a homeless shelter to house Oktibbeha County residents struggling to find somewhere to live and asked the board at its regular meeting Monday to consider using part of its American Rescue Plan Act funds to finance restoring this building into a shelter.

“(Homelessness) is not going to go away,” Van Halsema said. “Even if the county decides to use the money that is coming in through ARPA for other eligible reasons, it’s not going to go away, and it’s only really going to get worse. … The longer that the city waits and the longer that the county waits, the more visible, the more severe and frankly the more expensive the issue will become eventually.”

Van Halsema said she has frequently visited the city of Starkville, asking for help regarding community homelessness, but city officials have not been willing to have a conversation about the topic, so she is turning to the county for help.

Partnering with students from the Mississippi State University Department of Architecture, The Village presented a preliminary plan to the board of how the building would be constructed and the layout of the purpose each room inside the building would serve.

Van Halsema said her organization is only wanting to use the property’s “auxiliary building” for the shelter, which consists of eight classrooms that would be transformed into family sleeping quarters. After the Catherine Street evictions, she said Starkville Strong has accounted for nearly 200 homeless individuals across the county, and because the building could not hold all of those people, the shelter would prioritize those most vulnerable such as elderly people and those with children.

If the board were to approve this plan, Van Halsema said The Village needs $50,0000 for refurbishments, along with food, security and insurance costs, which would cover temporary funding of the facility for approximately six months.

The county ultimately chose to wait on voting to support the homeless shelter pending further discussion.

“I do think that this is an opportunity for the county government to make a really good showing of support for those that are in our midst that are in need,” Van Halsema said.

Van Halsema said the shelter would also offer programming to those residing at the property such as job skills training and educational programs.

Taylor said he joined this project because he believes it is the only solution for the displaced individuals in the community and wants to see the homeless population decrease.

“One thing I do know is that, being in government (myself), sometimes we get bogged down on the idea that we just can’t take it on, can’t bring it on, but we also know that these ideas will not just go away,” Taylor said. “This group is here to solve the equation, solve the solution. (The cost of) $50,000 as far as investing for six months, maybe to a year, is what we need to ensure we are addressing these issues.”

Community opinions
As Taylor, Van Halsema and The Village argued their case, several Maben residents attended Monday’s meeting in opposition to the potential shelter.

Lifelong Maben resident Wes Gray said this plan does not “add up” and the logistics, along with the cost, would never work for Maben or the individuals staying on property.

“Small towns have been in decline for a really long time,” Gray said. “Our resources are barely covering what we’ve got. If you move some people in from somewhere else, that’s going to tax what we already have. … I really think that it will put our little town in a decline more than it already is.”

Although Van Halsema said she wants to work with the city of Maben throughout this entire process, Maben Mayor Larry Pruitt said he is concerned about his city’s already short-staffed police department and believes this would cause stress on law enforcement.

“Please remember that we are struggling over there (in regards to policing staff), and we need all of the support, but we need some help to know that this is going to work,” Pruitt said. “… Our crime rate is probably lower than any crime rate around. We want to make sure that we have the right people and that we monitor this so that we won’t have any problems don’t the road.”

Supervisor input
District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard, whose district includes the Maben area, said while he feels for the homeless population across the county, he has legitimate concerns for Maben residents. He said he would like to see other options for displaced residents before making a decision.

“I think the idea is great,” Howard said. “I think there are some things that show a lot of planning that needs to go into this. Hopefully, (The Village) won’t stop looking for a better solution. This is a solution. … But I definitely like the option of putting people into a place like that and sort of taking them away from their families, a long way across the county.”

District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery said because the facility is quite far from Starkville, nearly 20 miles, could cause problems for individuals staying at the shelter that need to get to work or attend appointments who do not have personal transportation. He also indicated that the county has needs of its own that ARPA funds could be used for such as road repairs or the construction of a new county headquarters.

“With our money that we have been given, we have an issue as well,” Montgomery said. “We have limited office space. We’ve got people that are on top of each other. We are in the process of trying to use that money to alleviate permanent needs as well on the county level. … Simply put, I don’t see how this solution, twenty miles down the road, almost in another county line is the most viable solution.”