Y Residents Optimistic About New Home

The residents who'll be moving into a controversial new apartment building are speaking out.  The new housing shelter will replace the residential arm of the downtown YMCA.  The News On 6's Jeffrey Smith reports long-term residents of the Y say they want to clear the air.

A lot of the residents say there are a lot of misconceptions, that the low-income or mentally-ill people at the Y are dangerous or dysfunctional.  They say that's an unfair stereotype and they say their new digs at 10 South Yale will bring plenty of new opportunities.

"I was saved by this place. I was on the streets before I came here," said Y resident Steve Klappenbach.

He says he's been clean ever since.  Klappenbach lives on the third floor which is called Safe Haven.  The Mental Health Authority leases that floor for the formerly-homeless and mentally-ill.

"Most of my friends are living on the third floor at Safe Haven.  So, I know they're good people, and any neighborhood will be lucky to have them," said Y resident Joel Ogg.

The Y will close in January 2010.  That's when a four-story building run by the MHA will open at 10 South Yale.

At the Y, each apartment unit is about 90 square feet.  In the new building, each apartment will be three times that size.  And, each individual apartment will have its own bathroom.  At the YMCA, there's one communal bathroom for the entire floor.

"This is not a homeless shelter.  And, it's not a treatment center.  This is housing.  It's housing for those that deserve it and that need it," said YMCA Vice President Laura Hailey-Butler.

YMCA officials say they need a better facility.  Some neighbors say the building is too big.

"If you look around this area, there are no buildings than two stories, so it would tower over everything else in the area," said Julie Hall of White City.

Hall says it would detract from the neighborhood.

After living at the Y for a year, Ogg sees it differently.

"I would see it as a benefit to any neighborhood.  These are good people," said Y resident Joel Ogg.

So, Ogg is speaking up against those who say the location is the wrong spot for him.

YMCA officials say a lot of their residents do hang out outside a lot.  That's because there's nothing for them to do at all inside.  But, they say since the new facility will have individual bathrooms, kitchenettes, and a dining hall; loitering will not be a problem.

Construction will begin early this fall.

Related stories:

8/12/2008  Controversial Apartment Building Given Nod

8/9/2008  Meeting Held Over New Shelter

8/7/2008  Property Owners Fight Shelter