Men’s overnight rescue missions in York and Lancaster report no serious problems with their facilities being located in residential neighborhoods. York’s Rescue Mission and Lancaster’s Water Street Rescue Mission have both been located in city residential neighborhoods for at least 30 years.

But suddenly the issue of where to relocate the Bethesda Mission in Harrisburg is in danger of putting egg on the faces of all concerned — except, perhaps, the Mission itself.

"We have not experienced any problems whatsoever over these past six years with the Mission being in our backyard," wrote William Berkoben, senior vice president for public affairs, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) last month to Bryan Yesilonis, executive director of the Bethesda Mission. Yesilonis is planning to move his men’s shelter from 611 Reilly Street in Harrisburg to the nearby abandoned Domestic Linen Warehouse on the corner of Reilly and Fulton Streets.

Berkoben wrote his letter prior to Mayor Stephen R. Reed publicly expressing his concerns that the move could foist a negative impact onto Capitol Heights, one block south of the proposed move, and the existing Market Place Town Homes nearby.

"This is testimony to the management and staff of the Mission who are to commended for their work and commitment to making the Mission an important and responsible member of the Harrisburg community," Berkoben’s letter said. Recently, PHEAA was the subject of Reed concern when the mayor objected to and, with assistance from Sen. Jeffery Piccola, carved out a deal reversing the state agency’s planned move from its current city site to a suburban location.

Zommit Cleaner’s manager Phyllis Hill last month wrote to the Mission saying that "The men and boys from the Mission have been no bother to me at all."

She relates in her letter how she has had occasion "to hire a few of them" from time and that "They have even shoveled snow for me during the winter." Zommit Cleaners is located directly across the street from the Mission. Hill also noted that she’d "personally seen some of these men leave and go onto better things as changed men!" According to Yesilonis, about three-quarters of the men report alcohol and drug problems as well as having served time in jail. About 37 percent of the men report problems with mental illness. About 80 percent are not from Harrisburg.

Yesilonis told MODE that he runs a regular outreach program through the nearby Ben Franklin Elementary School "without incident". School children serve meals and provide choral entertainment under supervision of Mission and school staff. "We’ve never had a problem with the children," he says.

York Rescue Mission’s Dwight Rohrbaugh, a veteran employee of 16 years, says, "We don’t have a lot of problems." Similar to what Bethesda has proposed building at its new site, Rorhbaugh’s facility has a "private area for the men to relax in, a secluded space for mutual privacy." He points out that many families build fences to provide themselves privacy and doing so "doesn’t mean they’re hiding anything bad for the neighborhood." The facility houses 32 men on a regular basis and as many as another 20 men in its "transitional" space where men sleep over for a few days at a time.

Lancaster’s Water Street Rescue Mission, which expanded from 120 to 240 beds about 15 years ago, reports no ongoing problems with neighbors. "Our property on the back end borders a city parks’ commission ball field and playground. There’s an elementary school on the other side of that field," says president and CEO Richard McMillen. "We have no ongoing problems here." McMillen observes that there are more "fears than experiences" with rescue missions located in residential environments.

One of Harrisburg’s Boas Street residents spoke anonymously that she "could care less. They’ve always been under control." She did, however, question the purpose of locating a human service facility, especially one that provided housing, in a residential neighborhood. "I’m not sure that’s the best use of a come-back neighborhood".

"There’s a public purpose in developing Capitol Heights and a public purpose in having Bethesda Mission and its services," points out Baltimore’s Struever Rouse Homes developer Sandy Marenberg. He is looking to Mayor Reed and city employees to provide a master plan that accommodates both purposes. "No one is attacking the purpose of the Mission," he says, pointing out that other sites not located in resident neighborhood’s could serve the Mission just as well. Noting that his "thoughts are pretty much the same as the Mayor’s", Marenberg supports Reed’s position that the Mission ought to consider a different location.

Allen Gordon, the gentleman who answers the telephone in the Capitol Heights sales trailer said he hasn’t had "a single call" about the Mission’s planned relocation to one block south of his development. Local Jack Gaughen realtor Jaimie Schaeffer, who is handling sales for the development, also reports that she hasn’t had any calls on the matter. Although his organization is a prime sponsor of the Capitol Heights development, HYP president Greg Rotham had "no comment" on the controversial situation.