Hope for the Homeless
October 12, 2007
By Brian Bingaman
From The Reporter
Thursday's thunderstorms and heavy rain made it a miserable day to be homeless.
"No one wants to be in that situation. (Homelessness) doesn't discriminate - any age, any gender," said Jon Robins, a housing specialist at Community Housing Services in Lansdale.
CHS held a community open house Thursday to introduce potential donors and volunteers to the nonprofit agency's mission of guiding the homeless, near homeless and victims of domestic violence to self sufficiency.
Services include shelter or motel referrals; mediating landlord-tenant disputes; food cupboards; distribution of resources such as baby items, clothing and furniture; transitional housing; life skills counseling; and referrals to other agencies.
"The population that's increasing the most is the working poor - people living paycheck to paycheck and are one disaster away from a meltdown," said CHS program manager Rob Fecho, noting that there are waiting lists for Montgomery County's shelters.
The open house was held in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
CHS has listened to myriad stories of women, many of them mothers, at the end of their rope with no place to go.
"Shelter is a critical point to get away from an abuser," said Fecho.
"We had one woman who, the first time she got hit, she was out of there... Another one, she was an older woman, didn't come to us for a long time," said CHS counselor Maureen Allen, who is currently working with six families in different stages of starting a new life.
Why would anyone stay in an abuse relationship?
"A lot of times, they don't have the financial backing (money saved, help from family and friends)," Allen said.
For those fleeing domestic violence, often with little or no material possessions, CHS offers emergency financial assistance; referrals to health-care providers and legal assistance; assistance to find job training; and advocacy on public policy issues pertaining to the homeless.
Those who have been abused sometimes are reluctant to trust anyone, Allen said. In those instances, clients would be referred for psychological counseling.
Did you know that the only transitional housing program for homeless single men in Montgomery County is in Lansdale? It's Community Housing Services' Ezra House at 337 N. Broad St.
Volunteering for painting projects at Ezra House on Thursday were 25 employees of Prudential Real Estate in Blue Bell.
While taking a break down the street at the CHS open house, Realtor Karen Sandler explained that it was part of her office's Community Service Day.
"The people that didn't make it donated money and supplies," she said.
Lending a hand with the painting and speaking to guests about Ezra House at the open house event was 51-year-old Ron Alston, a Philadelphia native who came to Lansdale to make a fresh start in his life, then found himself without a place to live.
"For two weeks, I had nothing," said Alston, who was sleeping on the back porch at Ezra House until he officially became a client.
"It's been a blessing to be able to stay there. I want to help these guys," he said of CHS.
Alston is working at KFC, saving up for a place of his own, receiving budget counseling and evaluating career options.