Harvest Outreach reacting to city order

Mark Millican

June 03, 2009 06:46 pm

— In the last two years, Johnny and Tina Bedwell have lived in a stable, their truck, abandoned houses and a campsite in Redwine Cove where Johnny was raised. The last place they lived before coming to the Harvest Outreach Center was behind a store in Resaca, where the temperature last July topped 100 degrees.
“We had a real nice place in Resaca — 15 acres, a car, a truck and a double-wide trailer,” Tina said on Wednesday at the Harvest Outreach ministry on 209 E. Morris St. in Dalton. “We were going to buy it, but Johnny got laid off.”
Her husband received unemployment for six months after being let go from his job as an extrusion operator at a local carpet mill in April of 2007. Tina hasn’t worked much at one place because she has a bipolar disorder, she said, and also suffered a nervous breakdown when the couple “lost” their three children — ages 7, 15 and 17 — after leaving the property. The kids now stay with her father.
After being married for 18 years they were essentially homeless. Staying with friends didn’t work out for long.
“We slept wherever we could,” said Tina.
“A friend had called and told me about them,” said Harvest director Shelia Reed, “ so I went down there and got them. They’ve been cooking for us and doing a good job.”
Harvest serves anywhere from 75 to 200 meals a day at its storefront outreach, or through delivery.
The Bedwells have been staying at Harvest with Wilbert Waller, a medically indigent veteran.
“I can’t put them out on the street,” Reed said. “I want us to be up to code to protect people. I don’t mind them coming by and checking on us, regulating us.”
Harvest Outreach was inspected on May 22 by Eddie Hughes with the Dalton Fire Department. He said in a report, “There shall be no sleeping inside this facility until Ordinance 54-34 is applied.” That ordinance of the Dalton Municipal Code for “loft/urban dwellings” spells out that a “fire-suppression sprinkler system” is required, as well as smoke alarms and an “audio/visual warning device” connected to the sprinkler system, among other requirements.
Chief Bruce Satterfield said the fire department had “gotten calls” about Harvest housing residents.
“I really can’t comment because I’ve been out of town and don’t know where we’re at on this issue,” he said. “But if there are any violations they need to be taken care of. We have been going to churches — where they’re not supposed to be keeping people — and ensuring there’s a level of safety in place. I understand these are bad times economically, and we don’t want people sleeping in cars. But everyone has a right to a degree of safety.”
Reed said she is working on getting the facility up to code, but the ministry needs donations to do that. Harvest is a “stand-alone organization,” said Reed, explaining that funding comes through “local partnerships” with business and individuals. The ministry does not apply for state or federal grants because it is a Christian organization, she said. It has a board of directors and a small staff.
Reed said she has had a “brand new, enlarged breaker box” installed and has had an electrician inspect it. Also, the fire extinguishers have been updated and smoke alarms placed throughout the building.
“I’m trying to keep everything up to par,” she said. “We can’t throw Mr. Waller out — he’s had a stroke and has to have medications, and he doesn’t know when to take them.”
She also has plans to remodel property the ministry owns next door for a “dormitory.”
“Roy (Johnson of Providence Ministries) has a homeless shelter and they’re working on getting one for homeless women,” she said. “I’ve had five calls this week for (placing) homeless women, but I’m talking about a dormitory for medically indigent homeless people.”
Reed said she has consulted an architect about the planned space, and also needs to refurbish a bathroom to make it livable.
“I’ve been doing this for 23 years,” she said. “We just want to help people.”

Reaching Harvest
Address: 209 E. Morris St., Dalton, GA 30721
Phone: (706) 226-7995
Web site: www.sheliareedministries.org

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