The drop-in center for the homeless that's taking shape now in downtown Corvallis won't by itself solve the problem of homelessness in Benton County. But is it part of the mosiac of answers that eventually could put a dent in the problem? You bet.

Activists and volunteers from the Corvallis Homeless Shelter Coalition have been working on the center, located between Second and Third streets on Washington Avenue. It's open now for a few hours beginning around noon. The hope is that, eventually, the shelter will be open more and that it might add showers, laundry facilities and other services.

The project hit a potential bump recently when the city told coalition members that the project could require another $7,700 more than they had planned in systems development charges. Those are the fees the government charges new developments to offset any additional load that a project might put on city services.

City officials are scheduled to meet this week with project organizers to search for common ground. Let's hope those talks go well.

And let's hope that the drop-in center

becomes one of the resources available for the homeless in Benton County.

But it's not the only answer that will be

required. That's because we don't have one homelessness problem; we have a whole array of homelessness problems.

The drop-in center isn't likely to give much help to those families who are homeless because they can't afford to buy or rent shelter. It's not the answer for those hidden homeless people who must rely on the kindness of friends or relatives to find a couch to spend the night.

This isn't an issue where one answer is going to solve the problem. Instead, what we'll have to do is quilt together a patchwork of different answers and hope that we can creatively and generously stretch that quilt to address the many different kinds of homelessness.

We have a variety of groups in Corvallis focusing on helping the homeless. Benton County Commissioner Jay Dixon is heading a committee to try to eliminate homelessness in the next 10 years. Dixon's committee is at work now to survey the landscape of homelessness here and the programs already in place.

It's hard work. It may be impossible work.

That doesn't mean it's not important work. After all, to paraphrase a letter that appeared a couple of months ago on this page: We call these people homeless, but the fact is that they do have a home. Their home is Corvallis.