IOWA CITY - Interrupting what was supposed to be a celebratory event marking the beginning of the long-awaited construction of Iowa City's new shelter house, dozens gathered to speak up about why the proposed facility isn't welcome here.

"A lot of these people are mentally deranged," said Janet Dahlen. "They don't want to work. You put up a 4 million dollar building you're going to attract people all across the country."

Dahlen owns the mobile home park behind the new shelter site.
She's one of a few dozen people living or working near this area who say the new shelter will attract sex offenders to this area.

"Homeless shelters have always been a draw for sex offenders," said Dahlen. "They're not going to say they're sex offenders they're not going to say that they're sex offenders and how are these people here going to know that?"

Shelter management disagrees with the protestors argument.

"Some of the rhetoric is implicating that somehow homelessness owns predatory behavior more so than any other economic situation and I'm repulsed buy that insinuation," said Christina Canganelli, Executive Director of the Shelter House.

The shelter doesn't allow sex offenders to stay over night, but does allow offenders to do laundry, take a shower and eat a meal.

Those are the people protestors fear most.

"It's the people they deem too dangerous to keep inside their walls but they allow them to come inside and get a meal," said Joyce Barker who lives near the new shelter site.

The shelter house says they do not see the sex offender issue as one owned by a homeless shelter more than it is owned by any other business.

Construction on the new shelter starts immediately. If they can secure more funding, the shelter will open October 2010.