The Answer Is “The Street”

Talking to team leader Steve Still today about NightWatch. Frustrated about the lack of options for emergency shelter for homeless people in Greensboro.

For families, there’s GIHN and Pathways. They stay full all year ’round. (I think Pathways had 40 families on the waiting list, last time I checked.) They’re shelters, but you have to apply and wait to get in.

For individuals, there’s Weaver House and Salvation Army. They stay full, too, even in summer. Sometimes you can get a bed. A whole lot of times, you can’t.

There are no other immediate options for shelter. We have transitional programs, good ones, too. But there’s a process to get in and it’s not immediate and not everyone meets the criteria or wants to do what you have to do to do the program.

Emergency shelter means now. And when people are homeless and the shelters are full and they ask you, “Where do I go?,” it’s really hard. Especially when it’s a woman. Or a teenager. Or a family with kids. Facing the lack of resources (not just for shelter) and answering the “Where do I go?” question is the hardest part of doing street outreach.

Me: “The answer is ‘the street.’”
Steve: “And that’s not an answer.”
Me. [Sigh.] “Yeah. But it’s the truth.”

Some people get mad at the homeless service providers. That doesn’t make sense to me. Why take it out on the people who are already doing something? They can’t do everything. It’s simple. We have more bodies than beds. We need to focus our frustrations into solutions — of the immediate kind.

Our Task Force is addressing the issue. But that’s more of long-term process, looking toward permanent supportive housing. I think that’s a great plan, but we don’t have it yet and even after the plan is completed and resources are identified (yep, it takes initial $$$, although it should save money over time), it will take a while to convert our current homeless service delivery system to the new model.

So none of that answers the “Where do I go” question tonight. Or anytime soon. Please pray for the people on the street. There are hundreds of them, just in our town. And this is just one town.