Wall Avenue businesses say Lantern House’s arrival came with uptick in trouble
The Lantern House homeless shelter is shown on Wednesday, June 22, 2016, in Ogden. The organization's leaders say they're determined to be good neighbors to people working at nearby businesses, some of whom say there's been an uptick in trouble since the homeless shelter's arrival.
Lantern House Executive Director Jennifer Canter sits in a board meeting with Board of Directors Chairman Dana T. Farmer at the Lantern House homeless shelter in Ogden on Wednesday, June 22, 2016. Canter said Lantern House is determined to be a good neighbor to area businesses and is willing to work with them to ensure that happens.
The Lantern House homeless shelter is shown Wednesday, June 22, 2016, in Ogden. The organization's leaders say they're determined to be good neighbors to people working at nearby businesses, some of whom say there's been an uptick in trouble since the homeless shelter's arrival.
The Lantern House homeless shelter is shown Wednesday, June 22, 2016, in Ogden. The organization's leaders say they're determined to be good neighbors to people working at nearby businesses, some of whom say there's been an uptick in trouble since the homeless shelter's arrival.
The Lantern House homeless shelter is shown Wednesday, June 22, 2016, in Ogden. The organization's leaders say they're determined to be good neighbors to those at nearby businesses, some of whom say there's been an uptick in trouble since the homeless shelter's arrival.
The Lantern House homeless shelter is shown Wednesday, June 22, 2016, in Ogden. The organization's leaders say they're determined to be good neighbors to people working at nearby businesses, some of whom say there's been an uptick in trouble since the homeless shelter's arrival.
Lantern House Executive Director Jennifer Canter speaks with Chairman Emeritus Wilbert van der Stappen, right, alongside board of directors Chairman Dana T. Farmer during a board meeting at the Lantern House homeless shelter on Wednesday, June 22, 2016, in Ogden. Canter said Lantern House is determined to be a good neighbor to area businesses and is willing to work with them to ensure that happens.
Lantern House Executive Director Jennifer Canter sits in a board meeting alongside other faculty at the Ogden homeless shelter Wednesday, June 22, 2016.
Lantern House Executive Director Jennifer Canter sits in a board meeting with board of directors Chairman Dana T. Farmer at the Ogden homeless shelter Wednesday, June 22, 2016. Canter said Lantern House is determined to be a good neighbor to area businesses and is willing to work with them to ensure that happens.
Lantern House Executive Director Jennifer Canter sits in a board meeting with board of directors Chairman Dana T. Farmer at the Ogden homeless shelter Wednesday, June 22, 2016. Canter said Lantern House is determined to be a good neighbor to area businesses and is willing to work with them to ensure that happens.
Lantern House Executive Director Jennifer Canter sits in a board meeting with Secretary Graham Lovelady, left, and board of directors Chairman Dana T. Farmer at the Ogden homeless shelter Wednesday, June 22, 2016. Canter said Lantern House is determined to be a good neighbor to area businesses and is willing to work with them to ensure that happens.
OGDEN — Lamar Eskelsen is getting a lot more walk-in traffic at his Wall Avenue car lot these days, but it’s not helping his bottom line. He says the transients frequenting his property are committing crimes and probably driving away paying customers.
“I was out in the lot working on a car, and when I came back into the office, a homeless guy was in here going through all my filing cabinets,” Eskelsen said Tuesday, recalling a recent incident. “I grabbed him by the shoulder and flat threw him out.”
Lamar’s Auto Sales and neighboring businesses near 33rd Street and Wall Avenue link the influx of trouble to last summer’s opening of the Lantern House homeless shelter three blocks to the west, at 269 W. 33rd St.
Transients who once congregated around the old St. Anne’s Shelter at Binford Street and Wall migrated south to the new shelter. The number of homeless often exceed the shelter’s capacity or don’t want to meet its requirements, so the surrounding area experiences the symptoms of overflow, according to a September 2015 story by the Standard-Examiner.
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Trespassing, burglaries, auto break-ins, littering and vandalism are the most common problems, according to police and businesses in the area.
Ogden Police Department Lt. Danielle Croyle said cops have also fielded complaints about transients defecating outside businesses. “It’s too far to go for a restroom, they’re out in the elements …” Croyle said.
“We believe the call volume has gone up,” Croyle said, referring to reported crimes in the Wall Avenue corridor since the Lantern House opened.
Westland Hyundai at Wall and 33rd is a source of many of the calls, Croyle said. A manager reached at the dealership declined to comment. A phone message left with dealership general manager Mike Russo was not immediately returned.
However, the extremes voiced by some local businesses are not readily backed up by police data, Croyle said, because victimized businesses don’t always call in trouble reports.
The alleged offenders also don’t hang around, and by the time officers arrive, there’s little to go on, Croyle said. She added that trespassing and similar calls are low priority, which makes it harder for officers to catch those who are accused in the act.
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Lamar’s Auto Sales has been operating on Wall since 1969. “It was the best move I ever made,” Eskelsen said.
Today’s complications with transients are just something new to take in stride, he said.
“There’s really not much you can do about it,” Eskelsen said. He said he hasn’t reported any of his troubles to police. “I would if I thought it would do any good,” he said.
Story continues below map.
Supplied/Google Maps
Map shows Lantern House location and nearby businesses affected by trespassing transients, June 21, 2016.
He said transients asking for money are his most frequent visitors. “I don’t have anything valuable in here, and we just use credit cards,” he said.
He said he always asks trespassers to leave, but sometimes they ignore him, including a group he says took roost on his lawn in the shade recently. “I just turned the water on them,” he said.
Eskelsen owns a storage business behind his lot on Stevens Avenue. He said he has to patrol it a few times a week to clean up trash left by homeless campers.
Eskelsen said Lantern House should do more to accommodate the homeless population, especially during the hot summer months.
“I think those people down there sleeping on the sidewalks and in the curb and gutter, they ought to let the people in,” he said. “They have a brand new facility to help people, and they should help them.”
Reached by phone Wednesday, Lantern House Director Jennifer Canter said her staff has been working with area businesses to help address the problems.
For example, last winter, some Lantern House patrons were spending a lot of time inside Newgate Mall.
“We had a meeting with Newgate and came up with a solution that worked well,” Canter said. “They asked them to leave if they’d been loitering for more than a few hours. Then they would contact me, and we’d send case managers down to talk to them.”
The dining hall in the Lantern House stays open on winter days to accommodate clients, Canter said, and in the summer, there are shady areas around the facility where they can lounge.
“We’d love to have businesses call us before they call law enforcement,” unless someone is committing a crime or being destructive, Canter said. If people are simply loitering, she’s encouraging businesses to “reach out to us directly.”
She said some businesses have been taking cell phone photos of individuals and texting them to Canter or her staff to see if they can identify them as Lantern House clients.
“We can tell pretty quickly. We want to help, and we want to be good neighbors,” Canter said. “But we can’t help if we don’t know about it.”
She also cautioned against assuming someone who either looks or acts homeless is a Lantern House patron. “That’s not necessarily the case,” Canter said.
Canter cited a recent incident involving a nearby car dealership where an employee got in an argument with an unidentified man and woman walking across the car lot. It turned out they weren’t homeless or connected to Lantern House.
“They were on an innocent walk and cut across their parking lot,” Canter said. “They assumed he was homeless, and he felt very offended.”
Canter acknowledged it can be a tough call for business owners, but stressed that “we want to be good neighbors and reduce that impact as much as we can.”
Reporter Mark Shenefelt can be reached at mshenefelt@standard.net, and Cathy McKitrick can be reached at cmckitrick@standard.net.
