SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Before there was a controversial proposal for a one-stop social services agency in Covington, there was the Center for the Homeless in this northern Indiana city. Opened on an emergency basis in December 1989 after fire destroyed a downtown hotel for transients, the facility now serves as a national model for homeless centers. But it initially had a rocky start.

        “We run a very tight ship and have a zero-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol,” said Drew Buscareno, the center's three-year executive director. “People who stay here are held accountable for their behavior. But when the center first opened, we didn't have all of our policies and programs in place. This was a very dangerous place to be.”

        Today, however, the center that's been praised by President Bush and the Department of Housing and Urban Development draws dozens of visitors each year who want to duplicate its success in other communities, Mr. Buscareno said.

        On Tuesday, the Covington City Commission is expected to vote on a zone change that would clear the way for development of the Life Learning Center at the old Robke Chevrolet site in the 1300 block of Madison Avenue. Those hoping to build the Life Learning Center in downtown Covington looked to South Bend for ideas.

        “We've taken some elements from South Bend, but we've also improved upon it,” said Laura Cook, spokeswoman for Corporex Cos. “There would be nothing else like this in the entire nation.”

        Among those who hope to learn from the South Bend model are Marty Butler, a lawyer and brother of Corporex Cos. chairman Bill Butler, whose backing would largely make the $3 million Life Learning Center possible in Covington.

        Like the South Bend facility the Butlers visited two years ago, the proposed Covington center would centralize agencies and services to help the homeless become self-sufficient.

        Opponents say the Covington Life Center would be a magnet for the homeless. Supporters say it might be a magnet, but it will help get them on their feet.

        “This is not a shelter where people can come and go,” Marty Butler said. “They have to make a commitment to a long-term change in their life.”

Heard the same arguments

        Mr. Buscareno said backers of his center heard the same arguments Covington opponents are making now about the South Bend center more than 13 years ago.

        With the addition of on-site security and development of a well-publicized zero-tolerance policy for any misbehavior, the Center for the Homeless gradually won over many of its detractors, Mr. Buscareno said. The center has 10 community volunteers for every paid staff member.

        Founded by a a public/private partnership that included the city of South Bend, the University of Notre Dame and local churches, the center participates in neighborhood cleanups and rehabbing low-income homes.

        Initially met with skepticism by South Bend's business community, the center is now supported by many former critics in the business community, said South Bend businessman Jim Frick.

        “The center does a lot of good, and it shows that our city cares about the less fortunate,” said Mr. Frick, president of the South Gateway Association, which represents nearly 200 businesses. “I think most people agree that it's a big asset in our community. Maybe the center can break the cycle of homelessness for the next generation.”

        Two years ago, the Center for the Homeless completed a $7 million project that included the addition of a Community Partnership Center, complete with a clinic, mental health counseling, job training, early childhood education and transitional housing for men and women who are close to being on their own.

        Today, the center — located on a South Bend thoroughfare marked by used-car lots, transmission repair shops and strip bars — is so striking that it's not uncommon for first-time visitors to initially pass it by, center employees say.

        “(The center) didn't scare me away,” said Chuck Fulmer, who moved his Miami Glass Co. to a site across the street and about a block south of the homeless center last month for the higher traffic volumes. “For the most part, I think the center's been a good neighbor.”

Millions in investment

        Curt Woolley, the 24-year owner of Michiana Transmissions, is at the opposite corner of the busy intersection of Michigan and Sample streets.

        Within a five-block area, he said, public and private investments totaling tens of millions of dollars have been recently built or are in the planning stages.

        Mikki Dobski, director of community affairs for the city of South Bend, agreed that there has been significant public and private investment in the area. She added that the Center for the Homeless — which renovated a vacant retail space for its home in 1989 and later did a multimillion-dollar renovation — has served as one of the catylsts for development.

        “This area bottomed out at least a decade ago, but it's definitely on the upswing now,” Mr. Woolley said. Although he has had no problems with the homeless center's clients, not all of the neighboring businesses agree.

        A block south of the homeless center at the Dudes 'N Darlins Western Wearhouse, Rosie and Jack Norris say it's not uncommon for people who are staying at the center to steal merchandise, urinate in front of their store and deposit their empty bottles in the store's parking lot.

        “This center is such a five-star facility that it draws from everywhere,” Mrs. Norris said. “Granted, my heart goes out to homeless people who are trying to improve themselves, but a lot of these people are just bums.”

        Cari Wolfe, executive assistant to Mr. Buscareno, said the homeless center often gets blamed for problems caused by people who aren't affiliated with it.

        In response to that criticism, Mrs. Wolfe said, center officials recently checked arrests for last year that were attributed to people claiming to live at the Center for the Homeless.

        Of the 77 arrests, ranging from drunkenness and drug abuse to robbery, eight, or 10 percent, were affiliated with the homeless center at the time of their arrest, she said — a statistic supported by Capt. John Williams of the South Bend Police Department.

        “The center's come a long way since it opened,” Capt. Williams said.

        “A lot of that is because they have officers working there in the evenings. People who are staying at the center know that if they get out of line, they're going to jail.”

        Paul Sergio, president of the Sergio Corp., which is several blocks south of the Center for the Homeless, blamed most of the area's criminal activity on five strip bars and an adult bookstore on and near the South Michigan Street corridor.

        Next door to Dudes 'N Darlins, Paul White, CEO of Edward J. White plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractors, agreed with his neighbors' complaints.

        Between the homeless center to the north and a liquor store to the south, he said, he often finds bottles near his business or encounters people urinating in the adjacent alley.

        “The problem is you've got people coming to the center from 200 to 300 miles around,” said Mr. White's son, Joe, the company's president.

        “When the center can't help them, we're stuck dealing with the problems they cause.”

        Mr. Buscareno said the criticism is unfounded.

        “The biggest criticism or question our community has for us is, "Aren't you serving as a magnet? Aren't you going to attract people from all over the country?'” Mr. Buscareno said.

        “We've found that most people didn't come to South Bend because of the center. They came to South Bend because of family ties, a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship or because they were seeking work.”

        Marty Butler said the Life Learning Center will serve Northern Kentucky, especially the older river cities such as Covington and Newport. Both he and Alicia Beck, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, say they don't expect the Life Learning Center to draw many clients from Hamilton County.

        “People generally seek help out where they live,” Ms. Beck said. “Part of the reason is that's the state where they're from.

        “I also think people aren't aware of services on the other side of the river.”

Ind. homeless center turning lives around

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