DALLAS — A church is meant to be a place where you find peace, not trouble.
Members of a church in South Dallas, however, say that’s exactly what they’re seeing right at their front steps.
”We haven’t had this type of issue before,” said Pastor Bishop Bradford III.
Mt. Horeb Missionary Baptist Church is a historic place.
Members say they’ve been dealing with a serious issue for several months. They say an unidentified homeless man, who they also believe has a mental illness, has been taking shelter on the church’s porch.
They said they’re having a tough time getting him to move.
“He’s defaced the property quite a bit. A lot of graffiti. There have been times we’ve come up, and there have been pornographic pictures stuck to the wall,” Bradford explained.
And there’s more.
“He’s also relieving himself. Using the restroom, right there by one of our entryways,” Bradford added.
Church members say the man’s behavior escalated a few days ago. They say he set a fire on the porch and walked off before emergency workers showed up.
”The wall of our entryway was completely covered with smoke,” the pastor said.
Church members don’t want the damage getting worse. Its staff produced a video that shows Dallas police has been called out to the property several times. They say criminal trespass warnings have been issued.
Police said the man has walked off before they arrived, during some calls for service.
However, church leaders say, so far, little has been done to stop the man from returning.
”I was told by one officer that even if they arrested him, because of COVID and trying to release people from the facilities, he’d probably be back out within a day,” Bradford explained.
Members say they’ve tried talking to the man and offering help.
“I would really like for him to get the type of help that he needs so that it is not an issue,” Bradford said.
A spokesperson with Dallas Police Department said its mental health partner, RIGHT Care, hadn’t yet assisted will police calls for service to the church.
A supervisor said that will be changing, and RIGHT Care will be doing follow-ups, moving forward.
Dallas police are also helping to connect the church with the Southeast Patrol Neighborhood Police Unit to discuss its concerns.