Shining a Light on the Homeless

by: Mary Gaertner; Church Member and Manager of Charlotte Mecklenburg Coalition for Housing

Late last summer one of my colleagues came into my office and said, “Hey, you’re our homeless person, do you know anything about the women who is sitting on the bench at the bus stop out back; she’s been there a number of days.” Just to clarify… I’m not homeless, I work on strategic initiatives to prevent and end homelessness in our community. I went out to check on her and clearly she was homeless. All of her possessions were in one suitcase and plastic bags that surrounded her and she had too many layers of clothing on for that very hot day. I sat down next to her and we introduced ourselves. She told me she was going to take the Mega Bus to New York and meet a friend. I asked if her friend had a place for her to stay and she assured me she did. I asked her when she thought she might go. She wasn’t sure. So I said to her it might be better if she went to the women’s shelter. I told her I was worried about her being outside and that I could call someone to come and get her. She made it clear she was not going there. I asked her why she did not want to go to the shelter and she looked right at me at and said “have YOU ever been to the shelter?” That comment really made me pause. She was right. While the shelter is a place we want people to stay so they are not on the street, it is not a place that is right for everyone. There are too many people there. Some nights women and children are sleeping on mats under dining room tables. It’s loud. People with disabilities of all kinds are told to sleep on bunk beds. There is no privacy.

On any given night in our community there are over 2,000 people who are homeless. Approximately 450 people are chronically homeless which means they have been sleeping on the streets for more than a year or have had four or more occurrences of homelessness within three years. Homeless men and women – young and old. Veterans who have protected our freedoms, who have seen atrocities that you and I will never know. Why is there not enough permanent supportive housing for them? How is it that there are some people who will not allow affordable housing in their neighborhoods? As Christians, shouldn’t they be better than that?

There are some who choose to live outside. But what about homeless children who do not have a choice? Imagine seeing a yellow school bus pull up and let children off in front of the shelter. It’s the same yellow bus that drops our children off every day. Our children are going into a home, probably off to extracurricular activities, piano lessons, soccer practice, tutors. We are investing in them – they are our future. Aren’t the children going into the shelter our future too? How can we feel good about living so far beyond our needs when there others who don’t have their basic needs met?

My continued prayers include gratitude for those who provide services and care to the most vulnerable in our community and prayers for the homeless so that they can have a home where they can feel safe and warm.

I have not seen the woman who was sitting on the bench at the bus stop behind my building in several months. I checked on her, and the last time she stayed at a Room in the Inn was January 23rd. We did not find her when we did the homeless registry last week. Maybe she finally did take the Mega Bus to New York. Where ever she is I pray she is under God’s protection.