September 23rd, 2024 by WCBC Radio

Last Wednesday, a stabbing occurred in the first block of Greene Street in the area of Riverside Park, a place becoming increasingly known as a hangout for vagrants or those using drugs.  Pastor David Ziler, director of Union Rescue Mission, discussed rumors that the people who frequent the area are also going to Mission. He says the people who use the Union Rescue Mission services are involved in activities to better themselves, not “hanging out” at Riverside…

“They are not participants in our program. The people who are participating in our program are working 40 hours a week at our facility. They’re going to school, going to college. I got two guys in CDL classes; I got a couple guys in GED classes. I have women that are working our security detail, running our door, checking people in and out. I mean, our guys are working around the mission; they’re not hanging out down there. So to confirm whether they’re in our program, I can say ‘yes,’ they were not in our program.”