BY DONNIE JOHNSTON
A large group of neighbors asked the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors Tuesday night to help them deal with a shelter for homeless veterans that they feel threatens the security of their community.
"I have two children; this is a concern for me," Michael Anderson, an active member of the military, told the supervisors.
Anderson lives on Gravel Road, near what has become known as Compassion House, a kind of halfway house for homeless veterans and, according to neighbors, some veterans with chemical dependency.
"These veterans need to be somewhere downtown where they can be close to medical services," Anderson, who said he works in the medical field in the Air Force, said.
He added that most places that deal with chemical dependencies have security guards.
Compassion House, operated by Yolanda Dean, opened last month on Lord Willing Farm near Alanthus, several miles north of Brandy Station. It is part of Dean Outreach Ministry.
According to Linda Thompson, who volunteers there, there are now three homeless veterans in the facility. She told the Board of Supervisors that there are no drugs or alcohol allowed there.
"These vets are going to be taken care of," Thompson, who is associated with the Culpeper Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, said.
Her husband, Sam Thompson, who is president of the Vietnam Veterans' Culpeper chapter, echoed his wife's sentiments.
"There are no addicts there," he said. "I'm proud that our chapter has been part of this Compassion House."
Neighbors, however, shared numerous concerns.
"I live right across the road, and I do not feel safe anymore," said Robert Demarest, himself a veteran. "Every morning when my fiance goes to work, these guys are looking and gawking at her."
Tammy Jones told the board that this was not a veterans' issue, but rather one of safety and zoning.
"My husband sees these men walking around the neighborhood," she said. "That's not comforting."
Jones and Brett Massey said that the Compassion House had become a reality without the knowledge of any of the neighbors, and had bypassed both the Culpeper County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.
"That property is zoned A-1 and no conditional use permit has been issued for this facility," Massey said. "This is a violation as we see it."
Massey gave the supervisors a petition that he said had been signed by 43 members of the neighborhood.
"This is a quiet, rural community," he reiterated.
Bootie Smith, a Vietnam War veteran, agreed with Massey's assessment of the neighborhood and added that the Compassion House would do nothing to destroy it.
"This house is never going to change [anything]," Smith said, adding, "I'm hoping and praying that if I was homeless there'd be somebody to help me."
Smith and Thompson contended that all these veterans need is a chance to work their way back into society.
Neighbors argued, however, that at least one of the three veterans in residence was discharged from the military in the late 1970s.
"We are requesting an investigation of this situation," said Kristie Vick. "We are concerned for the safety of our children."
The neighbors threatened legal action if the supervisors do not act.
Donnie Johnston: