Lincoln Center Homeless Shelter Leader to Step Down

(KNSI) — The leader of an embattled low-barrier homeless shelter in St. Cloud is retiring.

Homeless Helping Homeless Executive Director Harry Fleegel tells KNSI News he plans to step away from the shelter he started with his wife Mary in 2021 after renovations at Lincoln Center are completed. “It’s very important that we finish up the building project. The people have to have a warm, safe place to live.”

The facility has been building individual PODS inside to house 25 residents so they can have private rooms to sleep in instead of a large shared room. Fleegel didn’t say when the project would be done or when he would step down, though Lincoln Center’s operators hoped to have the project completed by July 1st.

Many would dispute the claim that Lincoln Center is a safe place to live. The shelter has been the subject of numerous complaints from residents and businesses along Lincoln Avenue in East St. Cloud. The complaints include arson, assaults, prostitution, drug use, drug dealing, trespassing, and theft. Several city council members expressed concern about Fleegel’s ability to run the shelter earlier this month.

Fleegel explained that he was not being forced out. “I’m very proud of what we’ve done. I don’t want to give the impression that we’re leaving under pressure because this has been our call. And I feel we have met our call. And it’s time to train another generation of people to pick up where we’ve left off.”

The 75-year-old says the Homeless Helping Homeless Board will begin looking for his replacement soon.

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