MOUNT VERNON — There is no longer a question about whether Knox County is “home” to homeless people.
Workers at local social service agencies, charitable organizations and food pantries know. Church staff and pastors know. Those who work with at-risk youth know. The Knox County Sheriff and Mount Vernon’s mayor know. They see the faces of homelessness every day.
But what all these people want to know is ... what can be done about homelessness in Knox County?
An ecumenical group of church members, social service personnel, homeless people and interested others plans to open a nighttime homeless shelter in early December in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Parish House or another suitable location. In its initial phase — tentatively planned for December through April — the shelter will house only men; volunteers decided to serve first the portion of the homeless population they believe is most critically in need.
At a recent volunteer meeting, Kim Beaver, client aid counselor at Interchurch Social Services, said ISS had processed 95 homeless people to date at its four sites in Centerburg, Fredericktown, Danville and Mount Vernon. She said among them were prisoners just released from prison or jail, divorced people who have lost their homes, transients and families dealing with foreclosures and job losses. ISS, said Beaver, sees 25 to 32 new clients a month who — homeless or not — need help with food, rent, utilities, medicine and more.
“And we’re looking for the worst this winter,” said Beaver. “We need to make everybody aware that Knox County has a problem. We’re not L.A. or New York, but we do have a problem. When are we going to start helping our own?”
“We need to get out of our pews and do something,” said Randy Canterbury, who organized the group. “It’s going to take a lot of people and the community to make [the shelter] happen. You gotta put your feet where your mouth is.”
“We have seen firsthand that there is a homeless issue in Knox County,” said Knox County Sheriff David Barber, who attended the group’s second meeting. “We work with Interchurch on a pretty regular basis,” including, he said, transients who come to the area. Barber said his office runs a criminal record check and takes a photo of the person, then provides transportation to Interchurch for assistance with temporary housing.
“We’re excited to be any part of this,” said Barber, “and we will help with training and resources.”
Mount Vernon’s mayor, Richard Mavis, interviewed at his office, said he is well aware the city has a homeless problem.
“I think it is discussed in a lot of circles,” said Mavis. “The majority of our citizens do not believe we have a homeless problem because it’s not visible. If you go to a bigger city, you will see evidence of where people are sleeping or setting up housekeeping on the street. But in Mount Vernon, we don’t see people sitting on the square or sleeping in alcoves and doorways. [But] my feeling is that homelessness exists. I do think there is a problem. The shelter is a step forward.”
Mavis said he has heard people say that if the homeless have a vehicle to sleep in, they are not actually homeless. However, he defines the homeless as “people who are living in their automobiles, people finding shelter temporarily or shelter with no end to their predicament in sight.”
“But because they’re not on the street, it’s pretty easy for us to ignore it because we don’t see them,” he said. “In the same way, you may not believe we have a drug problem if you don’t travel in those circles.”
At another planning meeting, Joy Harris, executive director of ISS, said her agency has options for assisting the homeless, but funding is an ongoing problem.
“One of the services we try to provide is hotel stays for people who are homeless,” said Harris, “but, honestly, we were hit so hard in January, February and March of 2008 that it really put our budget out of whack. We’ve put a moratorium ... unless there were children in the family, so we have turned away countless individuals who have come to us. We talk to them about where they have been and what are their future plans. But without a shelter in town ... we can put someone up for a night or two, but that doesn’t solve the problem.”
Darlene Theophilus, volunteer case manager with the American Red Cross of Knox County, told the audience that house fires leave many homeless. She works to put fire victims back on their feet but sometimes finding services, especially for single people, is difficult.
“We’ve had more fires this year than in many years,” said Theophilus. “There was one man who had a fire ... I worked for a month trying to get him help, and I found that if you’re a single male in this county [who needs help], basically you do not exist.
“When the higher-ups say we don’t have a [homeless] problem here, well, yes, we do, and we need to do something. Winter is coming.”
Theophilus added that the Red Cross has agreed to loan some of its cots to the proposed shelter, although the cots are technically reserved for disasters.
“Tell them we have a disaster now,” responded volunteer Walt Gunther.
Those attending the meetings agreed that background checks and training are needed for volunteers who staff the shelter, including first aid, CPR, intake and ways to de-escalate volatile situations. A training course is planned for late November. Many Kenyon and Mount Vernon Nazarene University students and staff have expressed interest in volunteering.
Terry DeWitt and Yolanda Coyle of the Fredericktown Seventh-day Adventist Church, who have experience working with a homeless shelter in Columbus, noted that food, coffee, toothpaste, soap and other personal items will be needed for those who come to the shelter, including shoes to replace those that don’t provide winter protection.
When questioned by a participant about why shoes should be provided, Coyle responded, “We have to meet their needs where they are.”
The group agreed that time is running out as winter approaches.
“We could sit around all day and talk about a homeless shelter,” said Canterbury, “but I don’t want to talk, I want to make this happen.”
Volunteer overnight staff are especially needed for the three shifts (9 p.m. to midnight, midnight to 5 a.m. and 5 to 8 a.m.), seven days a week, said Canterbury. The next planning meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Parish House, 100 E. High St.
This is Part 1 of a weeklong series on homelessness in Mount Vernon and Knox County.
