Jimmy is 69 years old. He’s worked all his life, and is a military veteran, but now, at retirement age, he is living in a tent in the woods.

[video link]

Jimmy says that he’s eligible for Social Security, but doesn’t have the identification he needs, including his DD214, to get Social Security retirement benefits. Since this video was made in July 2009, my friend Deb, a NightWatch team leader, has been helping Jimmy get some of the help he needs.

Mark Horvath filmed Jimmy at one of the camps on the Mitchell property off Spring Garden Street. All of the people living in homeless camps on that property will be displaced during the next phase of construction on the Greenway. We welcome your prayers for them, and any thoughts you might have on relocating them. It is our understanding that most of the local housing programs that might be able to assist them are currently full. If you know of housing options, or if you can help Jimmy or any of our other friends at the Mitchell camps, please respond in the comments.

This video was made by Mark Horvath during the Greensboro stop of the InvisiblePeople.tv Road Trip USA, sponsored locally by Quaintance-Weaver, and donors Ed Cone, Salvage America, and RecycleBills.com. Thank you, all!

image credit: Joseph Rodriguez, News & Record

No injuries were reported when a fire broke out in a trailer today.

The fire was reported about 12:20 p.m. Monday in an empty mobile home at 1727 W. Lee St., about a block east of the Greensboro Coliseum.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

NightWatch has visited that trailer many times over the past few years, and we’ve taken food, blankets and hygiene bags to the homeless people who’ve stayed there. As far as I know, there was no water/sewer or power, but it’s a decent-sized trailer, and a secure roof over your head for whoever was there at the time.  The last time I went by there was last summer. I don’t know if anyone had been staying there recently, but with the big increase in homeless people on the street in the past year, I’d really be surprised if no one was sleeping there.  And if someone was, they’ve lost their spot.  And probably all their stuff, too.

» Previously:  On 04/08/2009, there was another fire in a building where homeless people slept.

photo credit: irrezolut

From an instant message conversation with my best friend and ministry partner, Audrie Keen, thinking about yesterday when we were at the Salvation Army store, loading the truck for NightWatch, street outreach to the homeless:

Here’s a good moment: Yesterday when I left the Army, my hands were filthy. Like black. I couldn’t wash my hands because a guy was in the bathroom. I didn’t have time to wash them. So I went home with them nasty. Then I looked down at my hands while I was driving home. And my first thought was, “These are the hands of Jesus. His hands were dirty.”

I love you, Audrie.

LORD, give us clean hands and a pure heart, but keep us always ready to get those hands dirty as we serve others as the hands and feet of Jesus in this world.  Thank you for that privilege, Father God. Amen.

(l) What's missing? (r) Where are the benches?

This morning, Audrie and I left Green Bean and walked across the street to Panhandler’s Park to sit and plan what all we had to do today to get ready for NightWatch tonight. But when we walked up the sidewalk, I noticed right away that something was missing — all the benches were gone!  That little patch of green at Elm and McGee was nicknamed “Panhandler’s Park” for a reason.  Is the City practicing a little reverse hospitality?  I guess there’s more than one way to discourage panhandling.

Audrie was righteously indigent and I was sardonically amused.  (We make a good team.)  We went and sat on the concrete where one of the benches had been.   When a friend walked by, I asked him to take our picture.  I also asked him for a dollar, but he laughed and said, “No.”  So, no 40 for me this morning.  Dang it.  Don’t tell the cops, please.  I don’t have a panhandler’s license. 

The WE program emergency winter shelter ended today. NightWatch should see more people on the street from now through next winter. The number of unsheltered homeless people has increased dramatically from last year. Greensboro Urban Ministry is seeing an increase of 30-40% in people seeking a shelter bed and Mike Aiken emphasized to me that these are NEW homeless people, not chronic folks rotating through the shelter. The WE program housed over 100 people. A number of those folks are moving into transitional or permanent housing, but the majority of them do not have housing, as far as I know, and we will likely see them back outside as we do street outreach.

winter shelter ends, 2008

03/15/2008: “The cold weather shelter programs at both homeless shelters ended yesterday…”

Every year, Greensboro Urban Ministry and Salvation Army open winter emergency overflow programs, in addition to their year-round shelter beds, to keep homeless people from freezing to death sleeping outside.  And every year, those winter shelter programs close as winter ends.  Salvation Army closes winter shelter on March 15th.  Greensboro Urban Ministry closes winter shelter when the dangerous temperatures end.  Every year, homeless people go back outside as the weather warms up.

03/15/2008: “Those 80 or more homeless people are now back on the street. Where are they sleeping?  Our NightWatch team found that the group of homeless people who met us in the parking lot of Grace Community Church had more than doubled from last week…. When we got to one of the big bridges downtown, we found that the number there had doubled, as well. Our friend JM, who has the spot nearest the path, announced that ‘the bridge is full’ … when we went to check the parking lot of Greensboro Urban Ministry before going home for the night, and we found at least a half dozen people sleeping there, some of them on the concrete right outside the doors of the shelter…”

That was a really difficult night for our outreach team. And unimaginably tougher for our friends on the street.  I feel like I’m reliving it as I re-read that post. There was a lot going on that night. It was complicated. It is this year, too.

Prior to the beginning of winter this year, GUM’s Mike Aiken brought together a group of homeless service providers, emergency management officials and homeless advocates to prepare for an expected increase in the number of homeless people who would need emergency winter shelter vs. the shortage of winter shelter capacity.  That was the beginning of the WE program — additional winter emergency shelters in five churches and a community center.

One of the many beautiful things that’s come of the WE program this year is that it’s increased the public’s awareness of homelessness as an issue and of the homeless as people in Greensboro.  WE has also helped created a space for homeless people to find their own voices and their own solutions.

Because of WE, there is much more awareness this year that winter shelter is ending.  The Salvation Army winter overflow and one of the WE shelters closed a couple of weeks ago.  The remaining WE shelters close tomorrow.  The group of men at the HIVE’s WE shelter have been busy developing relationships and finding permanent housing.  Liz Seymour helped created a non-profit, the Greensboro Cooperative Housing Association, to help pay deposits and sign leases.  (News & Record article, 03/26/2009)

Paul Gydos, a resident of the HIVE’s WE shelter and a homeless activist, created a Google group and a web site, Homeless and Friends United Piedmont, with a short-term mission of establishing an Ongoing Emergency Shelter Program.  Paul has drafted an action plan calling the community and congregations to become a fiscal sponsor, host emergency shelters, volunteer and donate.  (News & Record article, 03/20/2009)

There will be a lot more people sleeping outside this Friday night when the NightWatch truck comes around.  Winter is ending.  Homelessness isn’t.  It’s complicated.

I saw James the night of the homeless count, but didn’t get to spend much time with him.  I’ll probably see him next week on NightWatch. We usually get to see at least one train go by while we’re there.  Everybody gets still and just watches it roll past. The train noises echo off the concrete bridge and ring in our ears.  James has a front row seat for at least a dozen trains a day. I love trains. And I love James. But I’ll be glad when the day comes that James has to leave home for us to watch trains together.

Update, 08/28/2010: James went to live with a family member after the death of a friend under the bridge in July. As far as I know, he’s still living inside.

I didn’t know Ronald well; Marshall knew him better.  Ronald ate at the weekly community dinners at our church, Grace Community, at the Food Not Bombs dinners at the library on Monday nights, and we’d seen him on NightWatch.  I remember him as being very polite and quiet, not much of a talker, but always smiling and thankful for the meals we served.

I talked to my friend and ministry partner Audrie last night, when I found out about the accident, and again after I found out that he died.  We are both shocked and sad.  I’m praying for the young lady who hit him.  I can’t imagine how traumatizing that must be for her.  That’s a very dangerous stretch of road for pedestrians to cross.  We tell our NightWatch volunteers to be very careful when they leave the parking lot at night, because there are a lot of people walking and crossing the road in that area, and it’s dark and hard to see them.  This is just so, so sad.

LORD, be with the family, and with our friends who knew Ronald, and give them comfort and peace…

**UPDATE: Just got a phone call. Although news reports say Ronald died at the hospital, witnesses tell me that Ronald died at the scene. Based on what they saw, they believe that he was killed instantly or died within minutes. I hope that this is true, because it means that he probably didn’t suffer. One of his friends tells me, “He had a lot of friends… He was well-liked on the street.” Also, he used to fly a sign right off of Westover Terrace, by the elementary school, so you may have seen him. I’ll try to get a picture of him.

During the afternoon, I checked out some outside homeless camps and some sleeping spots in empty houses and commercial buildings, with the help of a friend who’s been homeless in Greensboro for about four years.  He also pointed out camps and panhandling spots all over Greensboro.  We didn’t find anybody at the sleeping spots during the afternoon, but it was early for people to be there, and we’ll visit again on our Friday NightWatch street outreaches, bringing hot meals, blankets and other supplies.  Beginning at around 8:00 p.m., dozens of volunteers and Greensboro police officers went out to count homeless people who are living outside, and my friend rode with an officer who was counting with us for the first time.

During the night count, another currently homeless friend and I rode with downtown cops Tim Tepedino and Brad Johnson.  We checked bridges, camps, parked vehicles, parking decks, abandoned buildings, warehouses and street locations.  We counted 10 homeless people and also ran into some people who had already been counted by other teams. I saw old friends and made some new ones, and found additional locations to visit on NightWatch.  Totals from the count should be announced in about two weeks.  Stay tuned.

» Links to news coverage (stories and video) here.