A Sarasota County church can once again bus homeless people from downtown to receive outreach services four days a week, after Sarasota County pushed back the start date of a cease and desist order to Dec. 2.
Remnant Church Pastor Frank Burns announced in an Oct. 4 social media post that the Remnant Cafe homeless outreach program — which had been curtailed after Sarasota County Code Enforcement determined the program was operating as a social service facility on land zoned for single-family residential use — may resume its ministry Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
A cease-and-desist order issued by Sarasota County Code Enforcement had limited outreach efforts to Wednesday during Bible study and Saturday during worship services.
“Today
we were notified that additional time has been granted for us to continue these efforts, and the cease-and-desist order has been postponed until December 2nd,” the post read. “Because of this extension, we will resume full operations beginning Monday, October 5th.”
“All church activities will continue as scheduled, including Bible Study/Discipleship on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons and our Worship Service on Saturday Evening.”
Tammy Burns told the Herald-Tribune that Remnant Cafe will also offer laundry services and showers to people who attend those activities.
Prior to the order, the Remnant Cafe had offered free coffee and meals, hot showers and clean clothes at Remnant Church of Sarasota, 2895 Ashton Road, since the church merged with Ashton Mennonite Church in 2017.
Before the merger with Ashton Mennonite, the Burnses had operated out of locations in the city of Sarasota, though Tammy Burns told the Herald-Tribune in September that locations closer to the city were not an option.
"Nobody will rent to me in downtown or north of downtown because they know who I am, they don’t want them,” Tammy Burns said, referring to the homeless. “We felt like this was a good remedy.”
Tammy Burns said the outreach served between 100 and 130 homeless people.
Most of them either traveled to Remnant Cafe on Sarasota County's Breeze Transit buses or rode a Remnant Church bus from the Breeze Transit depot at 150 N. Lemon Ave. in downtown Sarasota, which is about six miles northwest of the church.
Currently the Salvation Army Center of Hope at 1400 10th Street, Sarasota, offers homeless outreach in the city but only the Resurrection House Day Center for the Homeless on Kumquat Court offered services similar to Remnant Cafe.
What days and hours will Remnant Cafe now operate?
According to the social media post by Frank Burns, Remnant Cafe will operate from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with Bible study at 1:30 p.m. and bus transportation for the return trip to the city of Sarasota beginning at 2:15 p.m.
Saturdays, fellowship and lunch begin at noon, with a church service at 4 p.m. and dinner at 5 p.m.
Bus transportation to downtown begins at 6 p.m., with the campus closed by 6:30 p.m.
How was the complaint against the Remnant Church filed?
The code enforcement case was prompted by an Aug. 24 call from Christine Nordstrom, a resident of Ashton Enclave Condo Association, which is located on the south side of Ashton Road, essentially across the street from Remnant Cafe and just north of a 1.9-acre drainage retention area owned by Sarasota County.
Nordstrom said she called after she and her neighbors grew tired of incidents involving homeless people breaking into their lanais, sleeping under elevated porch decks and defecating in the drainage channel separating the complex from county-owned property.
Ashton Enclave was not fully occupied until 2021.
In December 2021,ABC7 ran a TV spot in which Dan Nagel, pastor of Majestic Ministries of Christ Church, which occupied a 1.66-acre parcel just west of Ashton Enclave, said homeless people were littering on the grounds, defecating on the property and stealing power for cell phone chargers.
Nordstrom said criticism directed at Nagel on Facebook after the broadcast made many residents reluctant to discuss homeless people trespassing on their properties.
Since the code violation was served, Remnant Church started to solicit donations for legal fees at remnant.breezechms.com/give/online.
The neighbors have started a website to document their concerns atashtonroadmatters.com.
Tammy Burns said that the church operated with the understanding that freedom of religion provisions of the Constitution covered their homeless outreach practice.
There are two legal options available to Remnant Church.
One involves going through the zoning process in an attempt to have the church be rezoned as commercial and then receive a special exception to operate Remnant Cafe.
The other involves the code enforcement compliance process and a hearing before a special magistrate, which is the avenue the church said it plans to pursue.
What homeless services are offered by local governments?
The primary point of contact between homeless individuals and local government is through homeless outreach teams that pair a law enforcement officer with a civilian caseworker. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office as well as the North Port, Sarasota, and Venice police departments all host such teams.
In 2006, the city of Sarasota was named the meanest city in America by the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Consultant Robert Marbut was hired in 2013 to assess homelessness in Sarasota County and the cities.
Marbut was hired to create a plan, which featured 12 recommendations.
Charles Hines, who served on the Sarasota County Commission from 2012 to 2020, noted that a key recommendation, to build a “come-as-you-are” shelter in Sarasota County — ideally two, one in Sarasota and one to serve homeless in south Sarasota County — never materialized.
“Having that type of shelter is the key to deal with chronic homelessness,” Hines told the Herald-Tribune. “In that type of facility you are able to provide a multitude of services in a safe environment to assist in dealing with financial crises, addictions, physical and mental health issues.”
He added that then people could be helped to find housing, counseling and employment.
In 2017, local governments adopted a “housing first” approach that places homeless individuals in housing with access to health, employment and social services.
Earle Kimel primarily covers local governments in Sarasota County as well as land development and environmental issues for the Herald-Tribune. Follow him on Facebook and X. He can be reached by email at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota County church resumes full homeless outreach services
