The new policy that bars sex offenders is meant to protect others staying at the facility.
LEWISTON – Pastor Paul McLaughlin has dedicated his life to providing food and shelter for people who have nowhere else to go. As long as there is room at Hope Haven Mission, McLaughlin opens his doors to anyone who needs to come in out of the cold.
With a few new exceptions, that is.
Child molesters and rapists are no longer welcome at the Lincoln Street shelter.
“We’re concerned about the safety and well-being of the rest of our clients,” McLaughlin said. “We cannot put them at risk while they are taking refuge in our facility.”
Hope Haven has room for 25 people. On any given night, the shelter is filled with men, women and children. Entire families will wander through the doors, homeless and hungry.
“We don’t want them to feel threatened when they stay here,” McLaughlin said.
For years, he has defended his “no discrimination” policy at the mission. Last year, when a convicted child rapist moved in, he repeated his claim that he was there to help all people, regardless of their criminal history.
The public outcry was enormous. Donations fell sharply. Holiday season gifts of food and money nearly vanished. Even after the staff at Hope Haven helped police send the convicted sex offender back to jail, some shelter supporters remained wary.
McLaughlin said it was not the disappearance of donations and support that led him to create a sex-offender policy. But it did prompt him to give further thought to the issue of housing such offenders with the rest of the population.
“It wasn’t a financial decision, by any means,” McLaughlin said.
The new policy is simple: Anyone with previous convictions or pending charges for sex offenses will not be given space at the shelter.
“If they want, they can come in and eat,” McLaughlin said. “Other than that, they are not allowed to stay.”
Since the policy was created earlier this year, Hope Haven has turned away a half-dozen or so people. When officials from a state prison or local jail call to find a home for a sex offender being released, McLaughlin is quick to ask about his or her criminal background.
“By law, they are supposed to tell me if that person is a sex offender or not,” McLaughlin said.
There are other shelters in Lewiston that will provide a home for them. The task of finding those places and making arrangements falls to prison officials and the offenders themselves.
McLaughlin said he was recently approached by a woman at a local church. She has a relative getting out of jail and he needs a place to stay. Did Hope Haven have space?
McLaughlin asked the woman if the person in question is a convicted or accused sex offender. He is. The pastor had to refuse.
“It’s unfortunate. We’re here to help people,” McLaughlin said. “But sometimes, you just have to take a hard look at the way things are.”
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