Checking out those checking in
Eradicating prostitution starts with changing minds. Tajuan McCarty, founder of the WellHouse, said a change in mindset has helped bring the issue of prostitution to the forefront of Homewood conversation, most recently in a June 9 community meeting.
“[At] that meeting, the community response is probably the best response I’ve ever had as far as community because they got it,” said McCarty, who heads up the organization that offers shelter and housing to women who have been trafficked, are prostituting or otherwise are sexually exploited. “They understand that this is basic economics, supply and demand. If you get rid of the demand, the supply goes away, and the pimps won’t have a job.”
Through community meetings, Facebook groups, donation efforts and volunteer excursions, Homewood residents have rallied to end prostitution in the area. But not everyone thinks all of the discussion is helping.
Fred Hawkins, Ward 2 city council representative, said the problem of prostitution is no different from what other communities are facing.
“I don’t think that our area has any larger of a prostitution problem than anyone else,” Hawkins said. “It’s just that our neighborhood has made a big issue of it.”
An unnamed source familiar with the police department told The Homewood Star that Homewood’s prostitution issue isn’t unique. Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Hoover and downtown Birmingham face similar issues. The source also said Homewood Police Department will not release statistics on prostitution at this time.
Hawkins said it is important to address the issue of prostitution, but it needs to be done through the proper channels.
“I think it’s good to talk to the leaders and the police department about a plan to attack the problem, but I think all the media attention has been overly negative,” Hawkins said.
The city was already working on the problem of prostitution before it reentered the spotlight, Hawkins said. Nothing has changed in regard to police efforts as a result of “media attention” given to the problem. Instead, he believes the discussion has hurt business values and home values and been an overall “net negative” for Homewood.
While police work with area hotel and motel owners to fight prostitution, some residents are making their own efforts.
Larry Gamble goes out every week with a group of WellHouse volunteers called Special Ops. He said the group’s goal is to minister to and pray for the people they meet on the street.
“We will witness to anybody that is addicted or homeless, anybody on the street,” Gamble said. “We try to realize who God is putting in our path.”
The group includes anywhere from 20 to 30 people and a police officer. In addition to speaking with people who are interested, they distribute flyers and toiletries with the WellHouse hotline number on them. Special Ops used to talk to people in the parking lots of hotels and motels, Gamble said, but they have been kicked off the property of some locations. He said this was because their presence “started running their clientele off.”
At the June 9 community discussion with WellHouse, Homewood residents said motel owners aren’t doing enough to curb prostitution. While the WellHouse has “absolutely” received positive feedback from local police departments, McCarty said the same is not true for hotel owners.
Oxmoor Road Econo Lodge owner Sanjay “Sam” Patel said he has taken steps to minimize illegal activity at his property, but the issue is one that will never completely disappear.
“It’s a nationwide problem,” Patel said. “The residents behind me, they think it’s just the Econo Lodge.”
The previously mentioned unnamed source agreed that some West Homewood residents have too narrow of a focus when it comes to motels, hotels and illegal activity.
“Their axe to grind is with the Econo Lodge … They’re using prostitution to stir up people,” the source said.
The source said there is a group of hotels in West Homewood that have a high number of police call-outs, which presents a larger and more worthwhile issue. Those call-outs include problems such as drugs, fugitives, violence and prostitution. These hotels have been notified of the problem, the source said, and police officers have done site surveys and provided suggestions to reduce the call rates.
Police will be monitoring the properties for two or three months. If no changes are made, police can bring the issue to the city council, which can decide to let the hotel’s business license expire. A similar situation happened when the council forced the America’s Best Value Inn and Suites on Oxmoor Road to close following a report of high crime levels. Police reported 148 arrests and 241 reported offenses, including 20 arrests related to prostitution, from June 2011 until 2014.
Police have made prostitution arrests recently and will continue to make those arrests, but the source said the department’s main concern is other crimes that occur more frequently at hotels. The department aims to improve hotels, not shut them down, but the responsibility of improvement falls on the owners.
Patel said he worked to reduce prostitution by about 90 percent since he bought the Econo Lodge three years ago. He did this through work with Homewood police and establishing new policies to run IDs and take down vehicle information of guests. The source familiar with the police department said the Econo Lodge does not get the highest number of police calls when compared to other hotels in the area. The issue is tough to combat, however, because it was able to build up for so long.
Even now, Patel said some other hotels continue to support the problem.
“Unfortunately, some hotels see it as a way to make money, but we don’t want to make money that way,” he said.
Police are working on a strategy for combating larger hotel problems, which the anonymous source said the department would not give details on, but the plan will eventually be brought before the council.
“It’s not going to be done overnight, and it’s not the only thing that the police department has to get done,” the source said.
Sydney Cromwell contributed to this article.