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Touched by the faces of the homeless
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Published: January 3, 2009
Updated: 01/02/2009 08:16 pm
The downturn in our national economy has affected many of us. We worry about what is going to happen to our 401(k)s, the value of our homes, and the future of our jobs, families and friends.
While those are certainly valid concerns, there is a growing number in our community who are worrying about where they will stay, how they can keep their children in school while they are homeless, if they will ever find another job and hoping and praying that they do not get sick. As the board chairwoman at the Advocacy for the Poor and an assistant to Mayor Allen Joines, I hear their stories more often as the weeks go by and they tear at my heart. I am always touched by the faces of the homeless, but particularly now by those who have never been in this situation before.
There's the single mother who never thought she'd be on the street until both she and her ex-husband lost their jobs. That meant no paycheck and no child support to pay the bills. Now she has to explain to her 5-year-old daughter why they are homeless.
There's the homeless man who didn't want his face shown on television because he was afraid his elderly mother would see that he was living in a shelter.
There's the shelter resident whom John Gladman, the associate director for social services at the Salvation Army, thinks may not like eating dinner so early, until she thankfully accepts her meal and says it's the most food she has had to eat in weeks.
Our community is blessed to have service providers striving every day to provide for those in need, as well as churches and faith-based or other organizations that are working diligently to try and keep families from becoming homeless. Also, we are fortunate that the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Council on Services to the Homeless and the city of Winston-Salem are leading the charge with the emergency overflow shelters that meet the needs of the growing homeless population in our community.
This past winter, First Baptist Church provided space for an emergency shelter for single men and women and this church has graciously agreed to do that again, January through March. The Winston-Salem Rescue Mission has offered space to house single men this month. Bethesda Center has stepped up to the plate to manage the emergency overflow shelters. The Advocacy for the Poor has agreed to accept financial donations. Several churches have already made financial contributions and agreed to provide much-needed volunteers.
Yet, there is another need that we have recently begun to see. The Salvation Army is the only shelter provider that can house families with children. While it will make every effort to ensure that families do have a warm, safe place to sleep, the reality is that the number of families needing shelter will only increase over the next several months. That means there is a clear potential need for emergency overflow shelter for parents and their children, something we have not needed in the past and originally was not included in the budget for emergency shelters.
Now, we can only anticipate what the needs will be in the coming weeks and hope that we will be able to accommodate all the people who need food, clothes and shelter. I believe this community is too caring and giving to risk a tragedy because we didn't have enough room in the inn available to take care of our homeless men, women and, most importantly, children.
Yes, times are difficult and uncertain. There are, however, some things that we can do. We need to work to feed the hungry, to cloth the naked and provide housing to the homeless; we need to provide health care to those who are physically and mentally ill; and, most important, we need to feed the spirit with hope and faith, which provides peace.
■ Linda Jackson Barnes is the chairwoman of the board of directors of the Advocacy for the Poor. The Journal welcomes original submissions for North Carolina Voices on local, regional and statewide topics. Essay length should not exceed 750 words. Writers should have some authority for writing about their subjects. Our e-mail address is: Letters@wsjournal.com. Typed essays may be mailed to: Letters to the Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Please include your name and address and a daytime telephone number.
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