Fixing the homeless problem

After a decision from Rockingham County Help for Homeless to discontinue this year’s temporary homeless shelter, several community groups are coming together to find a permanent solution to the county’s homeless problem.

Melodie Watt, program officer for the Reidsville Area Foundation, is working with the faith-based community in Rockingham County to establish a support circles system in the community for the homeless population. The Faith Summit Brunch will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, at First Baptist Church in Reidsville to invite churches and members of the community who want to find out more.

Watt said many homeless shelters across the country are going through a transitional phase as a result of the HEARTH Act. She said it requires more accountability and more case management for individuals in homeless shelters.

“Shelters have to assess these individuals and see if they want to move out of homelessness and then implement the tools there,” she said. “The federal government will continue to provide some money with the ultimate goal of moving them out of the shelter…They have to take more action steps to see that these people move into transitional and permanent housing.”

It’s been found that the government is focusing more of its dollars on permanent housing because it costs less overall than providing a shelter, Watt said.

The Reidsville Area Foundation provided Help for Homeless with $45,000 to run a three-month shelter with an average of 10 people per night in 2010. Through the support circles program, that funding could possibly provide seven to eight families with permanent housing facilities for a year.

Watt said Help for Homeless ultimately decided to give up the temporary winter shelter because the group received a federal grant to provide permanent housing slots to 15 people. She said the board voted to focus on this endeavor, since there are many criteria to be met.

The upcoming meeting will focus on a presentation made by guest speaker Roberta Macauley, director of Support Circles in Wake County. The program would gather support from local churches, businesses, organizations, clubs and other groups to sponsor a family for one year or more at the cost of $6,000.

Bill Duke of First Baptist Church said he envisions around 10 groups partnering to kick in around $750 per group and sponsor a family for one year. He said this program is more community-oriented than a temporary homeless shelter and has many promising aspects.

“We realize we cannot rescue everyone – we can’t be the messiah – but we feel like we can at least put them in a position where there is potential to move forward,” he said. “There’s a whole lot of potential perks that can come out of this. You can establish a friendship, somebody can become adoptive parents to these folks or people can even help tutor the children. This program has great possibilities.”

Watt said the intent is for people to have a question and answer session with Macauley to find out more about the support circles program. She also wants to gauge how many people would be interested in helping the program get off the ground in Rockingham County.

“It’s a new year, so we’re hoping a lot of churches have already approved their budgets and can know more of what their abilities will be,” she said. “If the community is not behind this right now, then there’s not a lot we can do. We need the community to be engaged because we’re relying on them to be the hands and feet of this program…Ultimately it’s not about the money – money doesn’t solve everyone’s problems. It’s about showing each other caring and concern and really wanting to help those that you can.”

Duke stressed that this program is not meant to interfere or compete with a current temporary homeless shelter being run by Melissa Galloway at the Draper Volunteer Fire Department in Eden. Watt said there will probably always be a need for a shelter.

“We understand that there are some individuals that ultimately choose homelessness versus moving forward, and that’s okay – everyone deserves respect and everyone has that choice,” she said. “But for those who do want to make a step beyond, Rockingham County doesn’t really have that component in place to help them make that transition.”

The Faith Summit Brunch is open to all members of the community. Anyone wishing to attend is asked to RSVP by calling (336) 342-4227. First Baptist Church is located at 409 S. Main St. in Reidsville. The meeting will be held in the Fellowship Hall.