Tent City Meeting

On Tuesday, May 13, I attended a community meeting at Gift Community Church to discuss a recent issue that has struck our community with concern. A few of the tent city locations, including one located right behind the AmeriCorps Partnership to End Homelessness office, is being closed down. The purpose of this gathering was to come together as advocates for those experiencing homelessness in order to exchange concerns and ideas about possible housing solutions for the people who lived in these areas. This particular session was the second meeting of this project. There were not very many people in attendance; however those who were present included mental health workers, church members, and community volunteers who all were very passionate about the issue.

The meeting opened up with positive words of encouragement and inspiration for us to be able to pass along to former tent city residents and other individuals experiencing homelessness. One quote in particular that I remember hearing a man share after telling  his homeless friend to keep voicing his cares and worries was “You are not alone. Someone cares.” I liked the fact that during the meeting everyone who spoke addressed the tent city residents as “our friends.” I felt the language was really positive and helped me see firsthand ways in which we all can continue to eliminate the stigma around being homeless.

Image of tent city found on Google

 

Next, the floor was opened up to sharing concerns about specific challenges that our friends due experiencing due to losing their homes. The most obvious of course was the inability to afford housing. Another was the lack of access to shelters and other housing programs. Some people discussed how during their interactions with our friends they had noticed stress levels escalating. One lady wanted to share a heart-moving story with the group about a client she has been working with. She shared her concerns about the client’s mental and physical health. He had been struggling to obtain food. She explained that he had lost seven pounds in less than a couple of weeks due to not eating. Her frustrations involved not being able to find adequate food supply and now housing resources specific to his needs. She expressed that his biggest hindrance to self-sufficiency and getting help is a language barrier; he is a member of the Montagnard community. His physical health was so disturbing to staff members at the agency that one nurse practitioner literally searched through her entire desk hoping to find any kind of snacks that she may have had from previous lunches. It was a very emotional experience for her and I could tell everyone in the room could relate to her empathy towards this man perhaps due to their own personal encounters with some of our friends.

The meeting continued with Thessa, a SOAR case manager at the Servant Center sharing community contacts and information about upcoming SPDAT trainings. This information was relevant because SPDAT is an assessment tool used for placing individuals in the Housing First program which assist them in obtaining their government benefits (SSI/Disability, etc) and also helps pay for their housing expenses. Many former tent city residents can benefit from this service. Partners Ending Homelessness is really advocating for agency staff members, specifically case managers and shelter staff to attend these trainings as a means of our community being more efficient and effective in housing people quicker.  Thessa informed us that tent city residents could potentially be considered for the Housing First program by stopping by Salvation Army on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to be assessed up until early June.

Overall, the meeting was very informative. I look forward to attending more in the future to see what our community is doing to meet the pressing needs of housing for former tent city residents, also known as our friends.

-Written by Chianti