Failed food pantry trips, confusing bus routes: Homeless, hungry say RNC causing logistical 'nightmare'

Julia Ramirez Miranda stood outside St. Ben's Community Meal on Tuesday evening with a backpack and a plastic grocery bag of donated bread, and she didn't know where to go.

Miranda, 55, was not sure where to meet her usual bus. The Republican National Convention security perimeter was a block away, and her typical bus routes and stops between meal sites for the homeless and hungry were all different.

On her mind was news she saw on Facebook that five Columbus, Ohio, police officers had shot and killed a homeless man near the RNC perimeter. She felt frustrated at all the resources dedicated to the convention, and not to those in need.

"This is not fair," Miranda said. "Who cares for us?"

Several other guests at St. Ben's, 930 W. State Street, said the RNC perimeter had disrupted errands they'd tried to run and routes they'd tried to take. While some weren't bothered by the presence of thousands of officers downtown, others said it did concern them, especially in light of the shooting of the homeless man, identified by family as Samuel Sharpe Jr.

McKinley Cullins, 55, could not reach the food pantry he visits at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, which is within the vehicle screening perimeter and on the edge of the hard zone, requiring credentials.

"It was a nightmare. I ended up going home," Cullins said.

More: 'Why try to hide us now?': Homeless people say they are being told to move for the RNC

He tried to take a bus, then walked several blocks, but officers at the perimeter turned him away. So he walked back the way he came. Now he's short on groceries at home.

After the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, "I knew it was going to be rough getting around," Cullins said. "But I didn't think it was going to be this bad."

The Milwaukee County Transit System has posted signs and sent emails notifying riders that some of its buses will take detours during the convention. But those with the fewest resources are most vulnerable to those changes.

Tim Engel is among them. A lifelong resident of the Milwaukee area, Engel drove a truck for many years to earn a living. Recently he lost his apartment just as he was due to begin a new job as a cook for a senior living facility. Then he developed pneumonia and couldn't hold on to the job after becoming too sick to work.

"It's been a pain," said Engel, 63, referring to the scattered bus schedule. "I sent out 10 resumes today. But if I get a call back or an interview ... it's tough to get there."

More: St. Ben's expanding services during RNC, which could restrict homeless people's routes, sleeping spots

Larger dinner crowd at St. Ben's during RNC

Leo Wimberly, who is homeless, was also stymied trying to run an errand. He tried to catch a bus to a U.S. Bank branch downtown on Monday, but the bus never got close to the bank. He gave up.

Wimberly hasn't had trouble with the scores of officers who are stationed along the security perimeter. Some even gave him directions. But his feelings are mixed.

"It doesn't bother me because I ain't done nothing. But still, there's too many of them," he said.

A friend who joined him at St. Ben's for dinner, Lionel Murphy, expressed the opposite view: "I think we're safe with them around."

Guests at St. Ben's were upset by the news that Ohio police had shot the homeless man, who went by the nickname Jehovah and was known to walk his pit bull and carry a Bible.

St. Ben's Community Meal serves about 150 people for dinner each night, five times a week. This week, dinner service has been closer to 200, said Father Mike Bertram, ministry director for Capuchin Community Services, which runs the meal.

"It's been busy," Bertram said. "We've had quite a few new faces here."

St. Ben's staff has expanded its services during the RNC, operating a day and overnight shelter in an effort to give homeless individuals a safe, cool place to stay, as the security footprint may displace some people from their usual spots.

Monday night the shelter was near its capacity of 40 men, Bertram said.

Elvis Bradley, who lives on the south side, drives to St. Ben's for dinner and didn't have trouble getting there. But he was succinct in his assessment of the whole ordeal downtown.

"I'll be glad when they leave," he said.

Sophie Carson is a general assignment reporter who reports on religion and faith, immigrants and refugees and more. Contact her at scarson@gannett.com or 920-323-5758.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Failed food pantry trips, confusing bus routes: Homeless, hungry say RNC causing logistical 'nightmare'