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From Jim Bradley's desk Cold and Homeless on Our Street
Caroline Review – February 2007
At this writing a section of Market Street, Denton, is looking a bit like the downtown Philadelphia I knew before moving here. A difference is that in Philadelphia the homeless sleeping on the street could get warmth from a subway ventilation grate; that is not available in Denton.
People who have seen a homeless person sleeping on one of our streets call and ask what resources are available. “Isn’t there a shelter?” they ask. The Eastern Shore homeless shelter situation is explained. One person takes the homeless person in for a night. Another, a registered nurse, knows of the possibility of arranging for medical assistance. It’s not that people don’t care.
In any case, the sudden high visibility of homelessness – and in cold weather – right here in Caroline County – Denton, to be specific - is drawing the attention of an increasing number of citizens who would like to see something done. Perhaps this increased awareness will result in the creation of a cold weather homeless shelter.
There is a group of ministers in Caroline County planning a soup kitchen. They are also considering the possibility of organizing a cold weather homeless shelter. They are aware of the floating cold weather shelter that has been operating successfully in Salisbury for a few years by a group of churches there. It is hoped that they can get together and that something constructive will come of this.
Even in communities having shelters, resources may not be sufficient for recent increases in the homeless population. In Cumberland, Maryland, the YMCA has reported receiving “phone calls from homeless people in the community who indicate the shelters are full, leaving them at a loss as to where to find immediate shelter support for themselves and/or their families.” (Cumberland Times-News) In Salisbury a recent radio news broadcast told of a homeless man dying from exposure to the weather.
While Voice of the Homeless members are disappointed by the lack of progress toward starting a Caroline County homeless shelter, they are not standing idly by wringing their hands. For some time, a VOH group has been collecting items that could be used at a homeless shelter. Their principal interest had been to support a Caroline County shelter. Absent that, they have inquired at shelters in neighboring communities to determine needs. Not all shelters responded, but the Salisbury operation has indicated that they would gratefully receive whatever could be provided. The idea is to collect personal items – particularly toiletries – and assemble them in small bags for easy distribution. Efforts like this give one a sense of “doing something” for the homeless. Other VOH supporters, meanwhile, work also for St. Martin’s Ministries, Samaritan House, Breaking Bread Ministries and Habitat for Humanity; they are not waiting for someone else to step to the plate.
Among those who have called about the homeless person in Denton, some have noted correctly that whatever efforts might be made at the moment would “just be a band-aid.” They speak of the need to do something more significant that might really improve the life of the unfortunate. Transitional homeless shelters attempt that through rehabilitation programs assisting a return to a stable life. Habitat for Humanity provides families that can demonstrate need with an opportunity to earn, with “sweat equity,” ownership of a home. These are efforts to help provide a better life. These can be seen as a comparison between social charity and social justice. Social charity may provide meals or temporary shelter; social justice will provide opportunity. The two should not be separated.
The third annual Point-In-Time Survey of the homeless population in five Eastern Shore counties is being taken in late January; more on that next month.
Voice of the Homeless has a mission of advocacy for the homeless community, empowerment of homeless individuals and families, and education of the public concerning the realities of homelessness. If you would like to learn more about VOH, contact us:
Voice of the Homeless
P.O. Box 103, Denton, MD 21629
410-479-0311
(pjbrad@comcast.net).
Disappointed but Moving On
Caroline Review – January 2007
In the last issue a report was given of a cold weather homeless shelter in a neighboring county that had physical space to allow for expanded services but was lacking equipment and personnel resources. The suggestion was made here that Caroline County resources might be applied to this situation and the shelter could reciprocate by occasionally accepting Caroline County homeless. Pursuing that possibility a group from Caroline County visited the shelter in November.
The occasion was a meeting of the people who organized the shelter and now provide its support and staffing; they were there to review plans for the upcoming cold weather season. It was an impressive group. The person facilitating the meeting was a representative of the municipal government whose contribution was to help coordinate efforts but was not directly involved in the shelter operation. Other attendees were three pastors of participating churches, key volunteers, representatives of the police and sheriff’s offices, emergency medical services and a radio station. This shelter functions in one church for the entire cold weather season with volunteers coming from that and other churches on a rotating basis; this church is centrally located and convenient to emergency services; the pastor of that church was in attendance. This shelter operates only when the weather is sufficiently severe; the radio station helps by announcing when the shelter will be open.
While the Caroline County delegation was awed by the enthusiastic support this community gives to its cold weather homeless shelter, it was disappointed to learn that a cooperative arrangement would not be possible. Contrary to what had been thought, this shelter is stretched to its limit. Also, we learned, catering to out-of-county clients has the effect of increasing the permanent homeless population of the host community, so that practice is not encouraged. The suggestion was gently and kindly made that Caroline County community resources be tapped to provide for the Caroline County homeless. It was suggested, specifically, that the churches be contacted because they were the resource that made cold weather homeless shelters possible in other communities.
Because a community lacks a cold weather homeless shelter does not mean the community is lacking in compassion. Here in Caroline County there is no cold weather homeless shelter, but there are people who, on an individual basis, reach out to the homeless offering food, clothing, bedding, cost of medicines and, sometimes, shelter. On Thanksgiving Day, 2006, a man found “wet and shivering” on Market Street in Denton was brought to the free community dinner being offered by Neighbors United to Serve (N.U.T.S.) at St. Luke’s Church. N.U.T.S. provided a meal; individual Samaritans provided a change of clothing and attempted finding a shelter to which he could be taken.
Whether it is an organization like a Department of Social Services or the Salvation Army, trained and equipped to help the homeless, or a private citizen, experiences with assistance efforts can run similar paths. There are many cases where the person being helped is appreciative and cooperative, using the assistance offered as a boost toward resuming a normal and healthy life. Unfortunately, there are also cases where the help, often repeatedly given, is squandered by a recipient unwilling to take even minimal steps toward self-recovery. In such cases the Samaritans understandably often become frustrated and shy away from again becoming involved.
There is a potential for problems when individuals attempt to provide social services without the advice and assistance available from professionals. Organized cold weather shelters are backed by local law enforcement and emergency medical personnel; the police or sheriff’s office check new arrivals for criminal records and, along with trained medical teams, are on call when emergencies arise. An organized shelter will not accept a person with a criminal record.
So, our winter season is in full swing and we hope, for the sake of the homeless, that the weather will be mild. It seems certain there will be no cold weather shelter in Caroline County this year.
Voice of the Homeless has a mission of advocacy for the homeless community, empowerment of homeless individuals and families, and education of the public concerning the realities of homelessness. If you would like to learn more about VOH, contact Jim Bradley, 410-479-0311 (pjbrad@comcast.net).
Homeless On Our Street Caroline Review – December 2006
“Be gracious to me O Lord, for I am in distress, and my eyes are dimmed with grief.
My life is worn away with sorrow
And my years with sighing;
Strong as I am, I stumble under my load of misery;
There is disease in all my bones.
I have such enemies that all men scorn me;
My neighbors find me a burden,
My friends shudder at me;
When they see me in the street they turn quickly away.
I am forgotten, like a dead man out of mind;
I have come to be like something lost.”
When I read that portion of Psalm 31, in the security of my comfortable Eastern Shore community, my reasonable reaction is “Well, that’s not me, certainly.” But it might describe the plight of the homeless man we have met walking the streets of a Caroline County town who sleeps in the open or in publicly accessible spaces or occasionally has a night in a motel courtesy of a state social services agency. How or why he became homeless we are not certain, although we learned that he was raised on a farm in Caroline County. One thing certain is that there is no shelter in Caroline County that might provide him with space. Another recurring certainty is that when shelters in neighboring counties are typically called in cases like this they are typically full. In spite of all this, our homeless visitor will tell you “I still have my faith.” Meanwhile, he spends his nights where he can and his days wandering the streets, shops and eateries. Hygiene must become a problem.
In a recent issue of an evangelical magazine a contributor wrote of an experience he had while volunteering at an inner-city homeless shelter. During an informal worship gathering a “street person” entered the room and began to create a disturbance. One of the group – a minister - excused himself and took the visitor to the kitchen where a simple meal was quickly produced. The disturbance over, the minister returned to the worship in progress and said “Isn’t it annoying when Jesus does that?”
The Continuum of Care, sponsored by Midshore Mental Health Services, has been mentioned here before. Its membership consists of agencies whose concerns include homelessness. At the November meeting of CoC, among the several matters discussed were three of special interest:
One was the observation that an increasing number of people from elsewhere are drawn to invest in property on the attractive Eastern Shore thereby causing a rise in property values making it increasingly difficult for the local workforce to find affordable housing. That’s a relatively new dynamic to add to the list of possible causes of homelessness.
Another observation expressed at the meeting was that, at least locally, shelter populations were predominantly white. The non-white homeless population tends to find shelter with friends and family. This would agree with a statistic given in an earlier article that the rural homeless population in America is 77% male, mostly white non-Hispanic.
The third observation of interest was that at least one shelter in a neighboring county has physical space to allow for expanded services but is lacking equipment and personnel resources. The suggestion was made that Caroline County resources might be applied to this situation and the shelter could reciprocate by accepting Caroline County homeless. At this writing this possibility is being explored and we are hopeful. That’s a good way to be during Advent.
Voice of the Homeless has a mission of advocacy for the homeless community, empowerment of homeless individuals and families, and education of the public concerning the realities of homelessness. If you would like to learn more about VOH, contact Jim Bradley, 410-479-0311 (pjbrad@comcast.net).
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