Homelessness? Not In My Back Yard

Dear Friends,
Monday, I was able to tour the Stewart Ironworks building which is a possible future site of the Emergency Cold Shelter and many other social services geared to help those in poverty increase their capacity for stability of housing, income and health.  It was an enormous building but I do wonder if we will ever be able to meet the needs of our area.

Yesterday, after being notified by a TV crew that there were human beings camping in a woods in Florence, I and another guest made the road trip to go out and provide information about our cold shelter.  We made it to the site and indeed two large tents were in a woods behind some restaurants where many of us have probably frequented.  Unknown to most of us, as we have our dinner, our fellow comrads, settle down in a tent just hundreds of feet away.  These human beings just didn't set up camp yesterday, it was evident that they have lived there throughout the winter.  I left information about our shelter and a phone number.  Then, the guest that came with me, led me to another tent site within another mile closer to Industrial Road and we left more information there.  I felt guilty about not doing this outreach last fall before the winter hit although as everyone knows we have been full every night.  Is there always room for one more?

I have seen encampments of people living in tents in the woods in the late 1990's in Covington along our riverbank.  It's where I started working with men who lived outside and then around 2004, the landscape changed and condos and riverbank parks took the place of those tents.  Many died who lived on the riverbank and a few have had housing for many years now.  Yesterday brought back those memories of being witness to the lives of those who are hidden among the trees and brush.  Some of you will ask, "What can we do"?  I don't have all the answers but I do know that taking away or tearing down a tent in a woods from a person who has already lost a "home" would not be humane. 

Homelessness and specifically seeing how human beings survive in the midst of despair is soul searching for the rest of us.  "NOT IN MY BACKYARD"  is what I hear at neighborhood meetings and I hear that because the idea of a human being surviving in a tent, surrounded by tarps, blankets and a few prized possessions...makes us uncomfortable.  Rather than grapple with being unable to help, we lean towards talking about how shelters and social services will bring down property values.  We've said things like campfires on the Ohio riverbank bother the folks in the hotels.  We claim that people who are homeless are more capable of chasing school children or women.  We say if we help, we attract more people needing help.  We cross the street, we avoid looking.  To be honest, I didn't want to see it.  I wanted nothing more than to hang up the phone after the media called me and just go back to running the shelter.  If I see it, I may have to actually worry about it and how much time can I give to Boone county (where outdoor homelessness is not suppose to exist). 

I'm thankful for the return of Spring and the warm weather.  I'm also thankful that our shelter will be able to offer 15 spots for men who are homeless and need a transitional place to stay while they work towards getting a permanent place to live.  Perhaps, one of those beds will go to someone who currently is surviving in the woods, hidden beyond our realm of understanding. 

Rachael W.

A Little More Insight...

Dear Friends,
This past week, three guests and myself traveled to Villa Madonna Academy to speak about homelessness to seniors getting ready to embark upon adulthood.  As usual, our expert speakers provided real life stories about living homeless, addictions, loss of family, street violence and employment difficulties in this current economy.  Sitting with the panel, I learned not from what I heard but from what I saw with my eyes.  One of my panelist, an older woman, literally fell asleep in her chair.  Intially I will admit, I was a bit embarrassed, but quickly I realized that this is reality and that her message was beyond words.  Visually the students saw a woman who doesn't get enough sleep at night and that despite her age and the fact she uses a cane to walk, she sleeps on an inch thick mat on the floor.  She sleeps with 4-5 other women in the same room who she doesn't know.  Students were also able to see a woman that was unable to tell her story but just verbalize a few short sentences in repetition. I am happy to report that last night she was able to get a permanent shelter bed at Welcome House and will have a real mattress, 24 hour shelter and case management services.

I have other good news as well!  We had another graduate who has been with us since December obtain a permanent apartment here in Covington! He received housing assistance through Center for Independent Living, case management services from Welcome House and Mental Health Court.  He is employed and now has a place that is affordable to live!

I'm also happy to report that one of our guests that graduated into one of the Sober Living houses reached his first 30 days of sobriety.  He revealed to me that this is the first time he ever made it 30 days in years of attempting to quit drinking. During one night in mid January, I came by shelter on my night off and found this man laying in our parking lot.  We were full that night and he made it to the door later than usual and staff didn't want to turn him away so they called me.  It was a miracle that Droege House (detox) had one bed available that evening and our guest was able to go there for treatment.  Although he doesn't remember the drive over, I recall him saying over and over while sobbing, "I'm so tired.  I'm so tired.  I can't do this anymore".  Music to my ears and I was hopeful he had finally reached rock bottom.  Most of you have known the sadness of watching someone drink their life away regardless of how many losses they incur. Although I know he could make the decision to drink again, for today he has decided to live. 

Many thanks to all those who donated food this past week including St. Timothy's, Sisters of Divine Providence, Highland United Methodist, Holy Cross, Frank family, NKU and Summit Country Day.

Opportunities Needed...

Dear Friends,
We have several guests in our shelter who are ready to work.  Ready to work means that they are in recovery from drugs/alcohol, have public transportation, work clothing and are healthy to do a job.  Our shelter is able to provide bus tickets until the first paycheck, clothing and even a sack lunch. Only thing missing...an opportunity. Do you or someone you know hire entry level workers at restaurants, grocery, retail, security, warehouses or construction sites?  If you do, please have them call me at 859-496-5434 and I will connect them to some amazing people who will work hard and show up for work.  How do I know this?  They volunteer for the shelter and I've seen them shovel lots of snow, clean bathrooms, move furniture, help with sorting and provide customer service. 

Thanks to St. Henry's high school for providing fried chicken bagged dinners, thank you letters and a $25.00 donation (which will help us buy milk for cereal). 

Guests with Medical Conditions Receive Help!

Dear Friends,I wanted to keep you updated on what our shelter does beyond shelter.  If you read our mission statements it talks about "linking" guests to community services.  Now, in an easy world that would be providing verbal or written information but if you've read any of this blog, you know life is not always a skate in the park.  We've had three individuals who have accessed the Center for Respite Care which provides residential rehabilitation services for individuals who are homeless.  Rehabilitation for medical issues is considered by many a luxury and for only those with the ability to pay (thru health insurance or cash).  Some people are able to pay for home health services to recover at home from a heart attack or if they live alone, they might be referred to a facility like Health South in Edgewood or Gateway in Florence.  Unfortunately, individuals without a place to live and without insurance are many times left out in the cold... literally as were two of our guests. 

This past Sunday evening, discharged to our facility was "Bill" who had two broken ribs and a contusion from a bad fall.  This was the night of the second big snow fall so our cold shelter remained open all the next day.  "Bill" was a given a paper prescription but no pain pills and he had no ability to walk more than a few steps due to his pain and difficulty breathing.  Thankfully after calling the Center for Respite Care and then St. Elizabeth (discharging hospital) we were able to connect "Bill" to this place where he is surrounded by health professionals to assist him with mending back to good health.  When we got to the Center for Respite Care, we were able to visit with our guest from last week uses a walker (he misses our place) and as I was getting ready to leave, another former guest greeted me. "Sam" had called us three weeks ago to let us know he had suffered a heart attack but we didn't know where he went and now we know! 

Please check out their blog below...we are blessed to have such a facility in the Greater Cincinnati area. 
 Center for Respite Care

Also, on another topic, a guest of our shelter sent me this link about the increase of homelessness around our country.  Suburban Homelessness
 

Rachael W.

A Week of Good News

Dear Friends,
Today was a very good day as our guest who arrived a week ago with his walker went to the
Cincinnati Respite Center to live.  Yesterday he talked to over 200 students at St. Henry High School about his situation with homelessness and illness.  He also reiterated time and time again how he felt that the cold shelter was his "family".  It was difficult to say good-bye to him today as I escorted him into the respite center but I know now that he will get the care he needed.  Many of the young men in our shelter cared deeply for this man and looked to him as a grandfather. 

We've had amazing donations over the last few weeks...lots of baked goods, hard boiled eggs and wonderful bagged dinners by Holy Cross school, Covington Church of God, Meeks Family, Highland United Methodist and NKU Education Department.  I also received TANK tickets, postage stamps and disinfectant spray! 

We will be holding two days to clean up and organize our cold shelter for closing.  March 30th from 4pm-7pm and March 31st from 9am-Noon.  If you'd like to volunteer, please email me at nkecs@yahoo.com with the date you'd like to come. 

Blessings,
Rachael W.
Shelter Operations Manager