GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Green Bay Police say people are once again dropping off donations for the homeless at St. John’s Park, causing unintended problems.
Police say it’s time to remind the public of the proper ways to help the unfortunate after a big screen TV showed up at the park.
“I think any of the shelters in Green Bay would be happy as heck to have something like that,” said Terri Refsguard, the CEO of New Community Shelter.
Refsguard says she often drives by the park, pondering potential solutions for what she sees.
“It’s a shame with all the resources in our community — it’s a shame that a park would be the place where people would find housing. We’ve got to do something about that.”
Dropping things at the park, like the TV, is preventing people who need help from getting it, according to police.
“It tends to hold people at the park in that area, and the parks are shut down from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., which we enforce at all the parks throughout the city of Green Bay,” said Capt. Clint Beguhn with the Green Bay Police Department.
Beguhn says having the items at the park prevents people from going to a shelter, where they might also find much needed resources. Beguhn says the items also lead to more work for police and parks employees.
“They are contributing to problems then with animals in the park eating the leftover food. We had an issue with a grill dropped off — I believe it was last year — and it ended up getting used as a firepit on a cold night. It almost burned some stuff down there.”
FOX 11 spoke with a few people at the park. They said they appreciate when people drop things off. They say they didn’t appreciate when the electricity was cut off, ending their new-found TV time.
Green Bay police confirmed they had the power cut for unauthorized electricity use, along with safety concerns. They say it will be restored for authorized uses.
“I think people need more than stuff,” said Refsguard. “There’s resources out there.”
Those who help the homeless say it is now up to those who frequent the park to choose how to use the resources being offered.
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