Area volunteers put homelessness on display

Southeast Missouri's homeless are the invisible poor, people who live in their cars or exist by moving among the dwellings of friends and family members, advocates said.

Few people can be found living outdoors, and those that can aren't in view long, said Roy Jones, housing coordinator for the Community Caring Council.

The lack of visible homeless doesn't mean they aren't among us, Jones said. "They are here, but it is less obvious" than in large cities, he said. "You don't see people on the street, and our community is not open to that. They will go to St. Louis or someplace more open to people on the street."

This week is National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week. To help make Southeast Missouri aware of the homeless among us, volunteers are erecting a display at the Cape West 14 Cine on Siemers Drive in Cape Girardeau. The display shows several large boxes with the typical items needed to turn it into a cardboard shelter. The display will remain in place through Thanksgiving.

Wehrenberg Theaters, owner of Cape West 14, has a corporate involvement with the Salvation Army and other charities and was pleased to help by allowing the display, manager Kevin Dillon said.

This is the second year the theaters are helping with the project, he said. "A lot of people stopped and looked, and I believe it did raise the awareness of a lot of people," he said.

For people needing assistance to remain in their homes, there are few resources, Jones said. The Community Caring Council has emergency aid available through a grant program to help with costs of apartment deposits, but the waiting time for federal rental assistance is about a year.

Long waiting list

The waiting list for rental assistance, known as a Section 8 voucher, has 1,158 names, said Charlie Horn, housing specialist for the East Missouri Action Agency. About 800 families have the vouchers at this time, he said. Getting to the top of the waiting list can take as long as a year, Horn said.

"If it wasn't for this program, there would be a lot of people out on the street," Horn said. "I don't see how the country could abolish it unless they want people dying in the street."

There are specialized shelters in the area, such as the Safe House for Women to protect the victims of domestic abuse. But the only true homeless shelter is on Old Cape Road in Jackson, where Joyce Hungate of the Revival Center operates a 40-room facility open to anyone.

"We are just a church, and we take people in and help them get jobs and get back on their feet into society," Hungate said. "We take anyone that comes in. Each one has a private room, three meals a day and everything furnished."

Some stay only a few weeks, others longer, but everyone who Hungate helps is expected to attend religious services, help with household chores and actively look for work or have a job.

"We won't tolerate drink or drugs," Hungate said. "But only Jesus Christ can change a person. We can dry them out, but then all you have is a dried-out drug addict."

Hungate receives no tax money to operate her shelter, instead relying on community donations and contributions from people who have moved into homes of their own. "What we do is called help the next guy coming down the road," she said. "They can contribute if they choose and most do."

Hungate agrees with Jones that most of the homeless in the area are hidden from view.

"Here they bounce from house to house, and it is hidden. A lot of people want perfect children, and when that doesn't happen, we see them," she said.

The homeless should not be viewed as accepting of their lot in life, Hungate said. "Most everyone wants to better themselves," she said.

A local proclamation on National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week will be presented at 10 a.m. Thursday at city hall, where an empty pair of shoes will symbolize a missing homeless person, Jones said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126