Giving help to homeless goal of area groups

RALPH NARDONE Times Leader Correspondent

WILKES-BARRE -- On any given day there may be close to 100 homeless people in Luzerne County, according to advocates for those with no place to call their own. Of that number, 75 may be housed in shelters but the remainder refuse help, said Bill Jones from the Volunteers of America.

To reach out to them, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Procathedral and the Luzerne County Homeless Coalition in Wilkes-Barre conducted the third annual “Homeless Persons’ Memorial” service on Sunday, the day of the winter solstice.

It was part of the National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day commemorated in 90 communities across North America, according to organizers.

The reason some homeless don’t want help is because they don’t “trust” the agencies trying to help them, Jones said. “They don’t want to be part of the system,” he said.

Charitable organizations along with county government agencies try to assist the homeless, he said.

Homelessness is not necessarily an economic issue, said Jim Davis, community volunteer. Often the homeless are mentally ill, suffer from substance addictions or are victims of abuse, he added.

Mary Zack, administrative director of Ruth’s Place House of Hope and event organizer, said that last year 10 homeless people died “entirely preventable” deaths. Last year was a “bad year,” she said.

Since the coalition started counting three years ago the total number of homeless deaths locally adds up to 47.

The local homeless die from illness, exposure or violence and because of a lack of health care, housing and physical safety, Zack said. These are basic “rights,” she added.

Using a “housing-first approach,” the coalition attempts to place people into permanent housing, to ensure they connect with all available services and to perform on-going case management, Zack said. The coalition provides the homeless with training in basic societal skills, such as how to be a tenant, find employment and acquire necessary medical treatments, she added.

The Rev. Daniel Gunn, rector of St. Stephen’s, stresses that local communities need to work on better ways to deal with the problem. He points to improvements in the efforts of county officials to provide funding, but he adds more can be done.

Gunn said St. Stephen’s is now the area’s only “drop-in” center, where homeless people can have their mail delivered, clean up, use the telephone and get a cup of coffee during the daytime when they are trying to get their lives together.

He added St. Stephen’s works to meet the spiritual needs of the homeless as well. “No one prays like a homeless person,” he said.

Sharon Noble from Wilkes-Barre said the homeless coalition helps her look for work, find food and clothing and provides necessary counseling. She’s been using the coalition’s help for three months.

Living on the streets means facing the weather with inadequate clothing and seeking access to the most basic services most take for granted, Noble said. With the coalition’s help she is confident that by early next year she will be able to support herself, she said.

Guest speakers included Carlie Wetzel, Luzerne County Office of Human Services, William P. Bolan, Ph. D., from King’s College; and Beth Hollinger from Community Counseling Services.