This month, Rev. Gary and I will merge our “columns” in Cross Currents – reflective
of the partnership we share in the leading of our congregation. Many of you received
this information as an email on November 23rd. I had asked Gary to draft it for my
signature so all the facts were correct and up-to-date. Thank you for supporting his
efforts and advocacy on behalf of the less fortunate in our community.
Like you, Gary has different roles in his life. He is a doggy daddy, son to an elderly
mother, and a longtime friend. He serves his alma mater as an alumnus, serves us as
Pastor and Teacher, serves patients and staff at Arnot Ogden Medical Center as an on-
call Chaplain, and serves the residents of Elmira's 4th Ward as their elected
representative. It is a full life that extends well beyond our Park Church community.
He tries to fill each role from his core values of grace, compassion and creativity.
He recently joined an Elmira City Council majority in a resolution addressing the
surge in encampments of the un-sheltered. It was not the resolution he had hoped
would be submitted. He viewed it as the least bad option, and temporary at best.
Gary, in all of his roles, supports a strategy known as “shelter first.” This is an
alternative to traditional models that create administrative obstacles to shelter,
separate people from family members, pets, and possessions, and is intolerant of
addiction and mental health relapses.
“Shelter first” gets people off the streets and into private accommodations built for
that purpose, where they can feel safe, then provides wrap around services to address
the challenges that put them on the streets in the first place.
Gary is not alone in supporting “shelter first.” The Park Church Council endorses this
model, and urges all elected officials, including Gary, to pursue this as the most
effective and compassionate approach to the nationwide surge in un-sheltered
homeless. Gary and The Park Church remain committed both to serving our most
vulnerable, and to creating just systems so that none need be vulnerable.
Jenny Monroe, President Park Church Council