City of South Bend attempts to secretly expand failed homeless program to Northwest part of city

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Residents and business owners packed a South Bend Redevelopment Commission meeting this morning to voice their concerns for what appeared to be secret plan to expand a massive failure of a homeless program to the Northwest side of town.

“You should be ashamed.” Attorney Jim Masters said during public comment while deriding the city for its lack of transparency on the issue.

About a dozen business owners, residents and elected officials showed up to speak against the move which would put a “low-barrier” homeless intake center off of Bendix Drive just north of the South Bend Community School Corporation’s school bus garage. None of those in attendance had been aware of the proposal before Tuesday and were never notified about the plan by the City of South Bend. The agenda also appeared to hide the actual purpose of the project, containing very few details. The media also appears to have not been notified.

CITY COLLUDES WITH SOUTH BEND COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

The plan to expand the homeless initiative started to come to light during a South Bend Community School Corporation Board meeting earlier this week. The land the city is hoping to build the homeless shelter on is currently owned by SBCSC. During it’s meeting earlier this week, SBCSC voted to approve the sale of the plot to the City. The next step was to have the South Bend Redevelopment Commission approve the purchase. However, after hearing the massive amounts of concerns from stakeholders on Thursday, the Commission voted to table the action to a later date.

Attorney Jim Masters tells RNM some laws may have also been violated by the South Bend Community School Corporation as it does not appear the property went up for a public bid and was simply being sold to the City without any competition.

FAILED LOW-BARRIER HOMELESS PROGRAM

The new facility on the city’s northwest side would be an expansion of the current Motels 4 Now program which is located at the old Knight’s Inn off of Lincoln Way West in South Bend. Motels 4 Now has been a hotbed for crime, drugs and overdoses.

In January of last year, an RNM investigation uncovered major crime and drug problems with the Motels 4 Now program. A public records request by REAL News Michiana discovered The “low barrier” facility has been the scene of countless drug overdoses, thefts and batteries, while purporting to be helping those most in need in our community — with more than 1,000 calls for service to the location in just a couple of years. “Low barrier” means there are essentially no rules for being admitted and housed, allowing drugs and crime to run rampant. Several businesses have closed down because of the issues brought by the program — including a McDonalds.

While a large number of the calls (42) discovered by RNM were for reporting “Unwanted Persons,” it is apparent crime is a major problem with the program. Below is a breakdown of some of the highlights.

Assault: 17 Calls

Theft: 15 Calls

Disturbance: 15 Calls

Overdose: 14 Calls

Threat: 10 Calls

Suspicious Activity: 8 Calls

Fighting: 4 Calls

Burglary: 3 Calls

Weapons: 3 Calls

Shots Fired: 3 Calls

Harassment: 3 Calls

Vandalism: 2 Calls

Stabbing: 1 Call

Sex Assault: 1 Call

Drugs: 1 Call

RNM discovered two overdose deaths related to the property in early 2023. According to publicly available records, 58-year-old Kevin Taylor died from a cocaine overdose at Motels4Now on January 29th. Weeks later, another man who “graduated” from the Motels4Now program died from a suspected overdose while living in another transitional home.

The criminal impact just off the property has also been of major concern. Earlier this year, RNM published a story about a single mother having to hold one man from the facility at gunpoint when he attempted to break into her home.

In a typical circumstance, a property like this would be considered a “nuisance property” facing several costly fines with the potential of being shut down. Motels 4 Now has received no such citations.

The new location that South Bend is looking to expand to is located near Growing Kids, a large daycare facility on the northwest side of town.

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