The shelter chases everything. After pawning and donating plasma. After diagnosis, divorce, eviction, relapse.After the last family I say no.
Emergency shelters provide a place to sleep and food, even if it’s just a mat on the floor. There are places where you can get clean socks, haircuts, tooth extractions, and even therapy. A shelter represents the end point from the bottom, a bulwark from the streets, but it can also represent a chance to get away from an abuser, earn a GED, and start anew.
Homelessness is highest in cities with exorbitant rents, but small cities and rural areas are not safe from the housing crisis. Some small towns have eviction rates comparable to large cities. Rural America lacks many social services, such as free clinics, soup kitchens, and shelters, so homeless people in rural areas often turn to places like the Water Street Mission. A Christian rescue mission in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with a population of approximately 57,000, it has been serving the hungry and homeless since 1917.
We spoke with several people staying at Water Street Mission. Some of them were there for the first time, while others had taken refuge there many times before.
james costello
Because there is no single agency or government organization that oversees America’s shelter system, shelters vary in funding, including private, religious, and public, as well as in the types of services and amenities they provide.
James Costello, 58, lost his leg to complications from diabetes, and soon after lost his job and home.: When I first came here, we slept in a “boat” on the floor of the chapel here. They were like hard objects and were probably about a foot tall. And you put a mat on it, and we slept on it. Then they said: “This is not good for the people. They are losing their dignity.” That’s the only thing here. They want you to have dignity. You have lost everything else. So they don’t want to take that away from you either. Yes, you’re in a room with 45 other people, but you still feel like you’re the only person. It doesn’t feel like a cow being shoved into a room or being chased out of a room.
Tamekia Gibbs, 48, survived domestic violence before arriving on Water Street.: It’s good to know that you have a place to lay your head and that you can get food in your mouth. Everything else that comes with it, especially if you’ve never been in that predicament, sleeping in a room full of women, you have no idea how weird it is and how stressful it is. You have to get used to different things. You have to get used to what you need to get used to.
Shauna, 44, is a recovering addict and has been homeless on and off for more than 10 years.: You don’t have to think, “Why do they always throw God in my face?” Just sit and listen. Maybe that lesson was meant for you and that’s why you’re angry. Just go and listen. If it’s for me, I’ll sit and listen. If not, fiddle with something on your phone.
Resources to support people who have lost stable housing In rural communities, the damage is more limited, but the causes are often the same as in large cities.
Levon Higgins, 50, has lived on Water Street for the past six months.: However, I couldn’t afford to live where I was. The rent went up to $1,500 a month. For 2 bedrooms. I just couldn’t do it. When the pandemic first started, I had a savings account and a SIMPLE IRA. The situation has worsened over the past year. Rent continues to rise.
shona: This is the 5th or 6th time. This time I decided to come back to get away from my drug of choice and to get away from being out on the streets and not feeling safe. Her daughter followed me here. This is the second time she has returned with my grandchildren. We have stayed here together a few times when it was just me and my girlfriend. It feels like I’m reliving everything all over again. I know something has to change.
Tamekia Gibbs: I endured a lot of physical, mental, and emotional abuse. I got to the point where I completely lost myself in that relationship. I said. “This is enough. I have to find somewhere else to go.” So when I did that, they didn’t want me to leave, so naturally it became physical . I asked my son to pick me up and took only what he could carry. And I’ve been homeless ever since.
Tamekia Gibbs
rob travis jackson
Securing a place in a shelter is not always easy. There are far fewer beds available than people. who needs them. and For those who enter the shelter, adjusting to life in a shelter is a process of its own.
Evelyn, 39, is a mother of two staying in the family section of the Mission: When I first came here, I was so angry, so angry, so hurt that I was even put in this position.I am very worried about being a single mother with two children on the street, because if I don’t have a place to live, I will be called CYS. [Children and Youth Services] You can bring your children. Even when I went to them for help, they were like: But legally we can take your children. ” And it was something like this. Don’t take my children. ” So I was running around looking for shelter for them.
Jennifer Berry, 45, was staying at an overnight shelter just before Water Street.: I miss the little things you don’t think about. People complain about cooking like I used to, but I won’t be able to cook for a while and I’ll miss it. Sleep whenever you want, no curfew, just live your life. freedom.
Tamekia Gibbs: There are women talking about each other. They just do a lot of backbiting, and when that happens within a community, it creates a lot of friction and tension. I try to distance myself from it, hunker down, and do what I need to do in class. I’m staying busy. I say this to women: If I can do it, so can you. ”
Water Street residents believe that in addition to addressing the housing crisis and increasing investment in mental health and drug treatment services, it is important to treat people in their situation with dignity and empathy. I believe.
james costello: This is the human condition. Humans have to solve it. You can’t do that in politics. And that’s the main problem. That won’t happen with the government. They always want money. “Where can we make the most money?” And as long as that continues, this problem will only get worse.
rob travis jackson, 59 years old, became homeless after divorce due to financial difficulties: It’s a little scary to think what our lives will be like after we leave Water Street. Staying here for a year will provide him with three meals and three hot meals for him throughout the seasons of the year. And what will my life be like after retirement?
Levon Higgins: Some people who encounter difficult times may do so because they have lost a job or have developed mental health problems. But the world doesn’t see it that way. When they see this, they automatically assume: He is an alcoholic. they don’t want to work. They don’t want to do anything. ” And that couldn’t be further from the truth. They just want help. People become afraid to ask for help because they have been turned down so many times.
shona
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living a homeless life
I actually want it.
