Around 100 showed up at Gates Hall in Harriman above City Hall on Monday evening at 6:30 for a town hall gathering of concerned citizens who live around the area of Cornstalk Heights, Walden Avenue, and Morgan Avenues. Many were there to express either their agreement with or disagreement with the Harriman First Christian Church announcing they were going to start assisting homeless individuals with an overnight stay if need be.

Harriman’s first Christian Church pastor Phil Merrill answered questions from the audience as those in support of him and those who were not in favor of the churches’ plans expressed their views on the topic.

At one point in the meeting, one nearby resident of the church began to accuse Pastor Merrill of spreading inconsistencies over Facebook about people beginning to gossip and who didn’t know the truth about the Church’s plans to assist the Homeless in the Harriman area. At that point, words were exchanged as accusations flew across the room which ignited the crowd and had to be calmed down by Mayor Wayne Best. Finally, one person was escorted out of the building after raising her voice as well.

Pastor Merrill told those in attendance that they were not allowing people to stay there over 36 hours, but the Church was just willing to bring them in to assist them with a shower and a place to sleep for the night if they needed it. He also stated that they would also have to meet certain criteria and a security guard would be on the premises as well.

Those who oppose the church using part of their sanctuary for beds for homeless individuals stated there would be no way they could keep them there overnight if they wanted to leave and many had drug addiction issues they posed a threat to the community, and would rather Pastor Merrill use another facility if possible instead of in their neighborhood.

Most of the meeting was calm and collected with both sides weighing in and staying calm. The meeting lasted about an hour and a half.