RICHMOND, Va. -- A Richmond church that serves the homeless during the day had to temporarily close its doors, its pastor says.
Pastor Joe Reeves at Tabernacle Praise Ministries says the church has seen an increase in drugs and overdoses taking place near the outside of the church.
Reeves called a meeting with community partners to create awareness about the incidents, in hopes of finding a solution.
He said they want to help people and they can’t do that if they are not safe.
The church is known to open its doors to be a place of refuge for the homeless population during the day when the shelters are closed.
Pastor Joe Reeves provides ministry and counseling, paired with jokes, food, and lots of coffee.
However, he said this week he walked outside the church to find multiple people overdosed on drugs and lying on the ground.
Reeves said the work they do can’t happen with that type of activity taking place, so they closed the church temporarily to regroup and increase safety.
“It’s heartbreaking. I just had to do that to make them aware that we are open to helping them and they just can’t abuse it," Reeves said. "You have an opportunity and you are abusing it and I’m sure this is going to create an awareness around them."
Reeves is turning to any community partners to help combat the issue, and he held a meeting with Richmond police to discuss how officers can play a part.
The church plans to create stricter rules for entry, bring in more services to help with addiction, and turn to police to help with the enforcement of criminal activities and trespassing.
They are also calling on other community partners to come forward with ideas and openness to create partnership
“We just can’t give up. There are people who need help and have succeeded and done great things and you can’t allow the bad seeds to mess up the good,” he said.
Reeves was able to reopen the church on Friday.
If you are interested in helping to provide services here you can do so by calling 804-939-4881 Or donating in person to the church at 2668 Hull Street in Richmond.
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