EVANSVILLE, Ind. —At United Caring Services, a white flag flapsin the cold wind. Inside, guests lie onblue rubber mats, maybe a half-inch thick, on a tile floor. This is their bed for the night.
Some havepillows. Others lay their heads on bundles of clothes, or whatever else is handy. Some help themselves to a Styrofoam cup of hot water and stir some cocoa in it.
For a quarter, they canscore a cigarette personally rolled by a man named J.D., sittingagainst a wall.
One man approaches J.D. for a cig. He doesn't have a quarter. But J.D. says he'll begenerous, just this once.
“I don’t make a point of giving ‘em away,” he snarled.
For area homeless, the shelter at UCS on Northwest Sixth Street in Evansville isn't heaven. But especially on nights like this, it'sbetter than the hell of outside.
Point in time
Wednesday was the night of Vanderburgh County’s annual point-in-time count, a commonly used measurement of people experiencing homelessness. A street team from Aurora spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning scouring shelters and other local spots compiling data to be released later in the year. Officials expect it to be a bit lower this year.
The point-in-time count provides a statistical and anecdotal glimpse of what homelessness in Evansville looks like. The number was 427 in 2018, and 428 in 2017.
J.D.
J.D., homeless for about 18 years, only seeks shelter on white flag nights. Usually, he sleeps in a tent off Fulton Avenue. For meals, he frequents the Salvation Army, also on Fulton. Besides peddling cigs for a quarter, J.D. makes a little money by holding a sign at busy traffic intersections.
Homeless advocatesin Evansville discourage citizens from giving to panhandlers, because many of them aren't really homeless.J.D., who declined to give his last name, might disagree with that. He said his panhandling take helps him “make ends meet:” food, laundry, and so on.
“As far as drugs and alcohol, I have no use for it,” J.D. said. “I’ve been in too much trouble in my younger years.”
J.D. is nearly 60. He said his homeless situation isdue to relationship and family strife, as well as a felony record. His criminal convictions happened long ago, but some of them can’t be expunged, he said, declining to give specifics.
A camouflage Marines hat sits beside him. J.D. said his dozen years in the corps and reserves took him around the world, including service in Operation Desert Storm. He said he was honorably discharged.
Yet, here he is years later, seated on a shelter’s blue mat, rolling cigarettes.
“I never thought at this point in my life, I would be in this predicament, this situation,” he said. “Just goes to show you can’t predict the future. If I knew then what I knew now, I would have stayed in (the military) until my retirement.”
Andy and Anthony
No two homeless circ*mstances are exactly alike. Advocates say that despite what some may believe, nearly all people experiencing homelessnessdo not choose or embrace this path. Many are suffering consequences of past poor decisions.
Family estrangement is common. So is adiagnosis of mental illness.
Andy Wolfe, 23, of Morganfield, Kentucky, and Anthony Thompson, 29, of Evansville, chatted on the shelter floor. Both have struggled with substance abuse in the past. Both want to reconnect with their families and mend old wounds.
Wolfe spent several weeks recently sleeping in a park in Henderson. When the year’s first snowfall came, he moved to a bathroom in the park. Cops ran him off.
“I was a supervisor making about $800 a week,” Wolfe said. “I got caught up on drugs a little bit. Burned too many bridges. Now I come to Evansville to try to start over.”
Thompson has a degree in criminal forensics from ITT Tech. Since that institution is now defunct, Thompson doubts his degree is worth much. But like Wolfe, his more immediate concern is staying clean. Thompson said he’s completed a rehab program but isn’t back on his feet yet.
“I’m looking to get out of being in this rut, get a place, get me a job,” Thompson said.
Ron
The immediate future looks a bit brighter for Ron Hale, 65. He has an apartment waiting at the recently opened Garvin Lofts, an ECHO Housing Corp. development on Garvin Street.
Hale was happy to have a roof over his head after spending so much time, as he put it, “freezing my buns off.”
Garvin Lofts is one of a handful of new projects in the city that advocates say can assist chronically homeless individuals or families. Garvin Lofts has 27 units. As of last week, 22 were occupied. Aurora and ECHO Community Health Care played roles in assessing potential tenants.
“Many people that have moved in were identified 18 months ago, before construction of the building was completed,” said Eric Biesel, supportive housing case manager with ECHO Housing Corp.
Homeless advocates cherish success stories when they come along, even modest ones.
Aurora staff had been advised Wednesday to watch for a mother of two children, who might arrive at United Caring Services for white flag night. The woman did show up. Shewas met with good news: a family unit at nearby Ozanam Family Shelter was available for her and her sons.
In that facility, the family would still be classified as experiencing homelessness, but they would be sheltered, with additional resourcesavailable. Aurora staff dropped off the family.
The count
After spending the early part of Wednesday night at United Caring Services, Aurora’s street team headed out in a pair of vans to lookfor the non-sheltered.
The search took team members behind strip malls, under bridges, to the Coliseum front steps, to hospital emergency rooms, encampments along Pigeon Creekand elsewhere.
On a white flag night, fewer people than normal are in those places. But Natasha Goodge, head of the Aurora street team, spotted a familiar, weary manwalking the sidewalk on Northwest Sixth Street in front of the METS transfer stationand rolled down the van window.
"Ray? Ray? You going to white flag?" Goodge yelled. Ray didn't acknowledge her.
"We get that sometimes," Goodge said.
Next, Goodge drove to the East Side Walmart to follow-up on a tip about a man living in the parking lot in a junk-filled Mercury automobile. She found the car immediately. The man behind the wheel was about 75 years old.
Goodge spent about 15 minutes talking to the man, who told her he owns another junk-filled vehicle in the same lot. The man evidently owns or owned a house in Evansville, but its utilities are off, and the property is tied up in a legal process.
Goodge left a business card and her phone number and told the man she'd check back with him in a couple days.
"He said he doesn't want to deal with Vectren at all, and he doesn't ever want to rent again," Goodge said. "He said he'd pray about it. He said he's getting positive messages(from God)."
Goodge finished for the night about 11. At 6 a.m. Thursday, the point-in-time count would resume. Street team members would visit library branches and other daytime locations that people experiencing homelessness are known to frequent.
How to help
While advocates strongly advise the public to not give to panhandlers, they said people experiencing homelessness should be treated with dignity.
People and groups who want to help are encouraged to support and volunteer with organizations with the mission of assisting local homeless.
Goodge, who's been with Aurora since 2010, knows many local individuals going through homelessness by name.
The goal is to find short-term or long-term housing solutions for people whose circ*mstances are often complicated.
"The people we work with who experience homelessness have many, manystruggles against them and who without serious intervention cannot get traction," Goodge said. "Thereare seriousmental health issues, physical health issues, trauma. They have lost hope, along with almost every single other thing. It's amazing to see, with a little bit of investment and inspiration, what they can achieve. But they cannot do it without it."
More information
Aurora,auroraevansville.org,812-428-3246,1001 Mary St.
United Caring Services,unitedcaringservices.org,812-422-0297,324 NW 6th St.
Ozanam,ozanamfamilyshelter.org, 812-422-2214,1100 Read St.
Evansville Rescue Mission,evansvillerescuemission.org, 812-421-3800,500 E Walnut St.
House of Bread and Peace,facebook.com/House-of-Bread-and-Peace-157647534881/,812-425-6754,250 E. Chandler Ave.
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