After nearly 30 years as a haven for homeless, Bill’s Place to close in December

It’s where Springfield’s homeless could go to do their laundry and take a shower. They can have their mail sent there. There are lockers for when the weather threatens to destroy their meager stock of possessions.

It has hot coffee, mental health services, and an occasional free meal.

For nearly three decades, Bill’s Place on Commercial Street has been a landmark for many of Springfield's homeless, a safe place to be during the day.

Mark Wood, a homeless man sitting in the alleyway next to Bill's Place, said he will miss going there when it closes on Dec. 16.

"I stop by here every morning to rest my head," he said. "This is kind of a comfort zone."

While those around him smoked cigarettes and spoke in hushed tones, Wood tucked his Sudoku puzzle book into his bag and stared at the old white building located at 424 E. Commercial St.

"It's going to impact a lot of people pretty heavy," Wood said. "Some of us don't ask (to be homeless). Then there are those who just don't care. It's sad. But this place is a place for us to go."

Bill's Place has been operated by Burrell Behavioral Health since the late 1980s in a building owned by The Kitchen, Inc.

The Kitchen is selling the building, along with seven others in a one-block radius, and asked that Burrell vacate the building by the end of the year.

Throughout its nearly 30 years in existence, Bill's Place has never had to pay rent for use of the building.

Mathew Gass, director of Transitions with Burrell Behavioral Health, said he and the staff at Burrell appreciate The Kitchen's generosity in allowing them to use the building for so long.

Gass said Burrell is actively searching for a new location for Bill's Place.

Until then, the staff at Bill's Place will continue to work with its clients and increase efforts to engage with homeless people through outreach on the streets and at agencies that also serve the homeless.

Bill's Place founder reflects on history of program, need for services

Plans for a homeless drop-in center in the empty Bailey school building fell through earlier this year after residents in the Grant Beach neighborhood voiced opposition.

Bill's Place is located next to the Missouri Hotel, which was The Kitchen's homeless shelter for three decades before closing in 2015. The Missouri Hotel building is also for sale.

Being centrally located to other homeless-friendly places like Victory Mission's Cook's Kettle, Victory Square and the Veterans Coming Home Center, Bill's Place is convenient for people like Wood to stop and rest before walking to their next destination

Ramona Baker is director of Safe to Sleep, a women's overnight shelter that is housed inside Pathways Methodist Church. The women are picked up in the evenings and dropped off again in the morning at a location near Bill's Place.

"We know that many of our women go (to Bill's Place) during the day to get inside when it's cold or hot. Or just to have a place to sit because they can't walk around all day," Baker said. "They are going to miss that."

While at Bill's Place, homeless people could have coffee, watch a movie, charge their phones, rest, do laundry, shower and use the toilet without worrying about police running them off. Caseworkers helped people get IDs, birth certificates and access services.

When Bill's Place closes, only one shower stall at the Vet Center will be available to homeless men, according to a News-Leader review of services in Springfield. The veterans center also has three washers and three dryers.

Women who stay at Safe to Sleep can shower at the church. Youth can shower and do laundry at The Kitchen's Rare Breed.

Gass said losing the lockers and showers at Bill's Place, which were cleaned after each use, will be particularly hard on folks when the weather gets bad. People could rely on having clean, dry clothes waiting in their locker after getting soaked by rain or snow, Gass said, which they always appreciated.

Looking at an interoffice memo from 1987 in which staff discussed the need for a Burrell-managed drop-in center near the Missouri Hotel, Gass pointed out that the Bill's Place founders expected to serve 15 to 20 people a day.

"Now we see 70 to 80 in a day," Gass said.

Back in the alleyway next to Bill's Place, a 39-year-old homeless man named Aaron said he relies on the center for more than its showers and hot coffee.

Aaron, who asked not to be photographed, said he recently wanted to commit suicide.

"I got here, realized what was going on in my head and went to the hospital," he said. "I come (to Bill's Place) and talk to them.

"That is my main thing, to have someone to talk to. I think that is probably one of the best resources they have," Aaron said. "I have bipolar, depression, severe depression and anxiety. They helped with the medication and helped with a doctor."

A recovering addict, Aaron said his case manager at Bill's Place helped him get connected to a substance abuse treatment program.

"I feel fortunate that they give you that stepping stone," Aaron said. "With my mental diagnosis, drugs make my mood a lot worse."

Aaron said he hopes to be back home in Joplin by the time Bill's Place closes.

Nearby, Gene Morgan said he stops by Bill's Place from time to time to eat, visit and charge his phone.

According to Morgan, many businesses and public places have started covering their electrical outlets to prevent homeless people from being able to charge their phones.

"They are taking away everything that homeless people need to be able to kind of survive," the admitted meth addict said.

Cynthia Jones, a 25-year-old homeless woman, agreed.

"Just because we are homeless, we are not bad people," she said. Jones said her backpack had been stolen the day before and she came to Bill's Place to see about getting a new ID.

Jones said she has been homeless for about eight years. She is currently living in a homeless camp.

"Yeah, it is hard. But it is freeing," Jones said. "You do get tired. I'm only 25, but my body tells me I'm like, 59."

Wood — known on the streets as Woody — grabbed a slice of donated pizza and pulled out his puzzle book again.

Wood said he sleeps at Victory Square, a homeless shelter for men located about a mile west of Bill's Place. Residents at Victory Square must be out of the building by 8 a.m.

Wood said he stops by Bill's Place as part of his daily pilgrimage around downtown Springfield. And when Bill's Place closes, Wood figures the people who hang out there will probably wind up at the Veterans Coming Home Center. That drop-in center is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Joe Batson, site manager at the veterans center, said anywhere from 150 to 175 people come through every day. When Bill's Place closes, he anticipates that number will increase to around 200.

Batson said meals are provided by Gathering Friends (a group of homeless advocates), businesses and church groups. Those groups use a website called Meal Train to coordinate who is preparing and serving meals. Find it at mealtrain.com/trains/44q68.

The Salvation Army provides lunch for seniors at the main office at 1707 W. Chestnut Expressway, and for anyone at Harbor House, 636 N. Boonville. The Harbor House lunch program  serves from 150-190 people each day.

Salvation Army spokesperson Amanda Long said they are ordering more supplies, such as cups and plates, and considering policy changes in anticipation of Bill’s Place closing.

“In the past we have allowed people to come and get a second plate about 12:45 if they want one. Should we have a very large influx, we would not be able to (give) seconds. The reason we have done this in the past is that sometimes this will be the only meal they eat in a day, so we want them to have enough to eat,” she said in an email. “We will make sure everyone is able to eat, though.”

Burrell's Mathew Gass said the staff at Bill's Place have been working with its clients to make next month's closure as smooth as possible.

"Part of that is getting them connected and to understand what other resources are available. I think we are all sad that we don't have a location right now," he said. "The homeless community is resilient."

As an important stop on the homeless daily route closes, what remains?