The St. Vincent de Paul shelter in St. Petersburg’s Methodist Town is under fire for not doing a better job cleaning up after the people it serves.
- Residents say their yards are overrun by trash from the shelter
- Police project they will respond to over 1,500 calls about problems surrounding St. Vincent
- The city of St. Petersburg appropriates $40,000 to St. Vincent annually
Residents like Lara Vasquez, who lives directly across the street from the shelter, said her front yard is overrun by trash left behind by homeless people.
“They come and they use the bathroom on our front porch," said Vasquez. "They leave syringes, trash bottles, you name it. All over the place.”
Last year, police responded to roughly 1,000 calls regarding problems involving people at the shelter. This year, it’s projected they’ll respond to nearly 1,500 calls about problems surrounding St. Vincent.
On Thursday, city council members got an earful from residents about the problems. Council members, in turn, gave the shelter an ultimatum.
“Every red flag is showing that we need to look more closely at the management of this facility,” said councilwoman Darden Rice. “We need more accountability, and I'm comfortable discussing that before we appropriate any more funds, it has to be tied to better accountability.”
The city gives St. Vincent nearly $40,000 annually. The next installment is due in October. St. Vincent CEO Sheila Lopez says they’ll meet the challenge.
“We're gonna make a concerted effort now, because we are concerned," said Lopez. "So we need to show it to [neighbors] that we are concerned or show it more.”
Officials are asking any neighbor whose yard has been trashed by shelter residents to contact St. Vincent de Paul at 727-823-2516 or http://www.svdpsp.org/ and they’ll clean it up.