Bringing attention to Cape's invisible population

Junked-out cars, cardboard boxes, a highway overpass.

Anything can pass for a house if you're desperate enough. Ask Mike and Virginia, who declined to give their last names. They're some of the lucky ones, they'll tell you: They have their own van to live in.

They drive from store parking lot to truck stop to rest station, searching for a place to park overnight, get a few restless hours of sleep. In the morning, the couple, both over 40, search for a place to shower -- maybe a water spigot behind a warehouse or a car wash.

After that, the middle-aged pair search for a job, for food, for spare change. They're always searching.

Mike and Virginia don't live in the Bronx. They don't live in Chicago, or even East St. Louis. They live in our town.

They're among Cape Girardeau's invisibles -- people you might notice on the street with a passing glance, but whose true problems are concealed.

"It's so obvious when someone's homeless, but for most people, it's easier to pretend there isn't a problem," Virginia said. "It's easy to turn away from a rotten smell to look at something pretty."

That's exactly the reason Roy Jones asked the Cape Girardeau mayor to sign a proclamation declaring this a week to recognize homelessness in the city.

"The prevailing opinion in Cape is, 'we don't have homeless people here,'" said Jones, housing coordinator with the local Community Caring Council. "Much of our homelessness is hidden from sight. They bounce from family member to family member or sleep in their cars."

Jones has appeared on local television and radio stations to use the mayor's proclamation as a tool to raise awareness.

The Community Caring Council and other agencies such as the Salvation Army offer various services to displaced individuals and families.

Taking a count of the homeless in Cape Girardeau is almost impossible. Many are transient. Others may seek food from local agencies but never admit they're homeless.

Last year, the local Salvation Army spent $40,000 on shelter alone for their clients. That doesn't include food, transportation or any other service.

"The face of homelessness is not at all what people think it is," said Maj. Mike Thomas with the Salvation Army. "It's not the indigent man on the street who is inebriated or has a mental illness."

Thomas, who was previously stationed in St. Louis, has been in Cape Girardeau for about a year and a half.

"Since I've been here, my concern has been letting the community know there is a problem. It's one of those things no one wants to see, but it's a reality," he said.

After living in their van in Cape Girardeau for over a month now, Mike and Virginia found help through Cape Girardeau's Salvation Army. Earlier this week, they were offered temporary work in a neighboring county.

They park their van in the parking lot at their new job. Wednesday morning, an employee knocked on the window of the vehicle and offered them extra blankets, food, money.

It looks like a good start, but after years of homelessness, it's just too hard to really get their hopes up.

"We just have to take it one day at a time," Virginia said. "We have to focus on the positive, even when there's only a little bit of positive."

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, ext. 128