For years some in the Butler County community of El Dorado have had no choice but to live on the street. But that could change when the El Dorado City Commissioners vote on a special permit for a proposed new building. The Butler County Homeless initiative applied for the new building. However, the Planning Commission recommended to the City Commission 7 to 1 to deny the application. But one homeless man we spoke to could use an overnight shelter in El Dorado. “I had a shower today, the first time I had a shower in three months,” said Richard Clark. Clark has been on the streets in El Dorado since he was 29. Now six years later, he talks about how this all began. “My family just pretty much disowned me, I lost a lot of love for them. My dad died before my 28th birthday, he died in 2016 and ever since then, I’ve been going downhill,” said Clark. Then came another tragedy in April. “My mom passed away this year and I didn’t even get to go to her funeral,” said Clark. Now, yet another setback for Clark and others like him. City Planning Commission members recently rejected a plan to turn this vacant building on West Central Avenue into El Dorado’s only homeless center. It came after complaints from residents who didn’t want it so close to their homes. The head of the group that wants to open the shelter, The Butler County Homeless Initiative says she thinks the fears are unwarranted. “Homeless people are not dangerous people, they are unhoused people,” said Debbie Hill, executive director of the Butler County Homeless Initiative.
Source: KAKE – News
