Photo by Christopher Blakeslee From left, Pastor Cameron Lienhart, County Sheriff Jim Quattrone, Pastor Scott Linden, and Rev. Aaron Wadin discuss the homeless situation and what the churches’ response should be during a pastors’ forum Monday, hosted by Koinonia Christian Fellowship, 1427 Peck Settlement Road, and moderated by Pastor Ron A. Lemon.

A quartet of faith-based leaders and elected officials met during an open forum panel Monday to discuss the ongoing homeless crisis that has besieged Jamestown, and what the churches’ response should be.

The forum was composed of Conduit Ministries Pastor Cameron Lienhart; Chautauqua County Sheriff James B. Quattrone, Sherman Community Church Pastor Scott Linden, and Aaron Wadin, the pastoral leader at Randolph United Presbyterian Church and former executive director of the UCAN City Mission. The meeting was at Koinonia Christian Fellowship, 1427 Peck Settlement Road, and moderated by the Rev. Ron A. Lemon, pastor of Koinonia Church.

Church leaders and officials discussed “the church and homelessness.”

Lienhart began the discussion and talked about how homelessness is a complex issue with a lot of factors. He noted, homelessness integrates to form a “perfect storm.” He also explained other factors that contributed to people becoming homeless.

“Homelessness is almost always associated with mental health, some form of addiction and some form of relationship poverty,” he said.

Quattrone said in 2010 the United Christian Advocacy Network was started, something Quattrone was involved with heavily before he ran and was eventually elected to be the county sheriff. .

“In 2016 we were able to acquire the city mission, do some renovations and open it up as UCAN City Mission. I would like to offer a training called, Are You a Good Neighbor? It gets into the nitty gritty of what we can really do to help our neighbors,” Quattrone said.

Linden talked about his experiences working in the field and on the frontlines with people who are unhoused and homeless.

“I’ve noticed one thing too. … Working in this field isn’t so easy and people tend to go to extremes,” he said. “The super far-right, legalistic, pharisaical and judgmentalism, and to far left — where it’s that enablement, entitlement and when helping hurts. Meeting in the middle is where we need to be. Showing mercy. Mercy always triumphs over judgment.”

Wadin took more of a pragmatic approach.

“Hebrews 13 versus 14: For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. Everyone here is homeless, and Jesus went to prepare a place for believers,” he said. “Many people believe in God, but do we trust him and believe him?”

Starting with Lienhart, Lemon asked the first in a series of questions.

“There is a rumor out there that homeless are being bused in from other states and all that. Is it true?”

Lienhart responded, “No.”

Lemon then questioned Linden about how to help homeless people if they refuse assistance. Linden said, when he ran UCAN, he had several instances of people who refused help.

“We’ve had multiple people who’ve refused to accept help, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need help,” Linden added.

Lemon questioned Quattrone about what part does drug addiction play in homelessness in the area.

“I think nationwide, you see about 50 to 60% have either drug addiction and or mental health illness, and I believe that’s pretty consistent even in Chautauqua County,” Quattrone said.

Lemon then asked Wadin about how partnering with other agencies may alleviate the homeless situation.

“In the last couple of months there’s been two homeless meetings with the county and people in different organizations, and the world or the government, and they’ve had more than 100 people,” he said. “You can look around and see half of that. In the papers people are quick to say we need the churches to help. We need the churches to come together. Are we called by Christians to partner with people that are self-serving? I don’t know.”

Lienhart said he never wants to view someone as a project and that he doesn’t want to take the approach that he will be able to adopt them or fix them. However, he does believe that churches need to offer a compassionate response and acts of mercy.

Linden presented statistics for those who presented as homeless, unhoused or at-risk of becoming homeless in 2023 that total 1,346. It includes: single adults, 620; military veterans, 27; runaway youth, 13; males, 688; females, 618; families with children, 411 with 249 children, 118.

Linden said the numbers are growing year-after-year and especially when it comes to women and children, and Wadin believes Jamestown is behind the rest of the county when it comes to the homeless and unhoused.

“It’s coming. It’s coming,” Wadin said. “We’re about 10 years behind the rest of the county, but it’s coming.”

Wadin was referring to seeing more panhandlers and beggars which are more relevant in larger municipalities.

Quattrone also talked about how some county lockups are some of the largest mental health and medical service providers in the nation.

“I’m seeing more and more inmates being booked in our jail who are sicker, thinner and addicted to drugs,” he said. “The largest three mental health providers in the nation are Rikers Island, New York City; Cook County Sheriff’s jail, Illinois, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, California. The county jails were never designed to replace mental health hospitals or medical facilities.”