I represent members of HONGKONG (Harrisburg Organization Networking for Gentrification to Keep Our Neighborhood from becoming a Ghetto) who live near Mercy Ministries. On March 18, we submitted a petition to the members of the Augusta Commission asking them to relocate or shut down Mercy Ministries, a homeless day shelter in our residential neighborhood on the corner of Crawford Avenue and Fenwick Street. Now, we are waiting for justice.

The only way that it will be acceptable to have a homeless shelter in a residential location would be to require every neighborhood in Augusta to share the burden of "hosting" the homeless population. The homeless would have to be equally divided among neighborhoods. The Summerville neighborhood, the downtown business district and the Riverwalk area must also be included. That is the only compromise that we are willing to accept.

We are interested in how residents of all other Augusta neighborhoods feel regarding this matter.

Butch Palmer, Augusta