Posted 1:17 pm Saturday, November 22, 2008
One Night Without a Home Reveals Fragile Boundaries
By PATRICK BUTLER
Religion Editor
At 5:30 a.m. after a night sleeping on a cot in a cold room with strangers, the world looks different and life’s perspective changes, said attendees of One Night Without A Home early Wednesday morning. An individual’s pride and dignity are vulnerable to those who face the threat of inadequate shelter.
Religion Editor
At 5:30 a.m. after a night sleeping on a cot in a cold room with strangers, the world looks different and life’s perspective changes, said attendees of One Night Without A Home early Wednesday morning. An individual’s pride and dignity are vulnerable to those who face the threat of inadequate shelter.
That was the general consensus of 25 people who remained — from a starting total of 120 participants — at the morning meeting of the One Night event planned by the Smith County Coalition. One Night coincided with the National Homeless Awareness Week that ends today. After 35 participants endured a night at the Salvation Army, the remainder met after breakfast.
Plan A was that the group would spend the night at Bergfeld Park under the watch of hired security. But falling temperatures sent them into a scheduled Plan B at the Salvation Army.
Still, it was hard, one participant said.
Still, it was hard, one participant said.
‘ONE PERSON’
“It was extremely cold for about three hours (in the group sleeping area),” said Helaina Patrick, 18, a University of Texas at Tyler student. “And that wasn’t even outside, and was for just a few hours. People are out there every day and I realized I never put stock in what homeless people were feeling. I don’t know how I’m going to change, but I want to make it right for just one person.”
Lauren Maes, a single woman with no children said, “The forced intimacy of the sleeping arrangements struck me. Where you sleep is your space and place, and I don’t normally have to share my space with anyone. There is a definite psychological shift and your pride has to go. If I were a homeless person, that would scare me.”
Koby Smith, 27, of Winona, agreed.
“I’ve slept out on picnic tables before when camping,” he said, “but that was my choice and I had a place to go in the morning. But the homeless have no clue what’s going to happen tomorrow. That would get my pride.”
Dave Berry, 60, Tyler Morning Telegraph managing editor, said the exercise was a “reality check.”
“It was a real reality check,” Berry said. “Being potentially homeless is just a paycheck away for a lot of people. I have an escape that others don’t.”
He also learned about agencies he’d rarely heard of.
“There are agencies out there that serve the homeless, like Remedy House in Athens, who work under the radar and we don’t often hear about. This was a good reminder.”
“And we were handed our food,” added April Clary, of Chandler. “At home I have a refrigerator or pantry with five different boxes of cereal to eat and have my choice, but here, they don’t even have that simple choice.”
Lauren Maes, a single woman with no children said, “The forced intimacy of the sleeping arrangements struck me. Where you sleep is your space and place, and I don’t normally have to share my space with anyone. There is a definite psychological shift and your pride has to go. If I were a homeless person, that would scare me.”
Koby Smith, 27, of Winona, agreed.
“I’ve slept out on picnic tables before when camping,” he said, “but that was my choice and I had a place to go in the morning. But the homeless have no clue what’s going to happen tomorrow. That would get my pride.”
Dave Berry, 60, Tyler Morning Telegraph managing editor, said the exercise was a “reality check.”
“It was a real reality check,” Berry said. “Being potentially homeless is just a paycheck away for a lot of people. I have an escape that others don’t.”
He also learned about agencies he’d rarely heard of.
“There are agencies out there that serve the homeless, like Remedy House in Athens, who work under the radar and we don’t often hear about. This was a good reminder.”
“And we were handed our food,” added April Clary, of Chandler. “At home I have a refrigerator or pantry with five different boxes of cereal to eat and have my choice, but here, they don’t even have that simple choice.”
‘HUMBLED’
Former Smith County Councilman Derek Choice led the 6 a.m. meeting after the group went through the food line at the Salvation Army. Attendees gathered at Bergfeld Park for evening seminars and speakers before walking to the Salvation Army to sleep in an unheated “overflow room” reserved for disaster relief efforts.
Choice said he was a “better person” after the experience.
“I was cold at the park and all bundled up,” he said. “I wondered, ‘How in the world will I get through this night?’ An old friend walked by and didn’t even recognize me. I realized there’s no face to the homeless. Do we really see the face of the homeless? I was humbled by sleeping on a cot in a cold room with strangers, and that was just one night. I’m a better person for having done this.”
“This opened my eyes,” said Don Williamson, 35. “It touched me. We need to ‘do unto others.’ They (homeless) need love.”
“I never took the time to realize who the homeless were,” said Kishl Burr, whose son Christian, 12, also came to One Night Without A Home. “I’ve volunteered. I was at Coats For Kids helping out last Saturday. But now I’ll be even more mindful of people’s needs.”
Christina Fulsom, president of the Smith County Coalition for the Homeless said to the group, “Now that you have experienced at bit of who the homeless are or will be, you’ll be surprised at how many you will see. There are people living within three blocks of where we are now, in houses that should be condemned, in buildings that have been abandoned or hiding under bridges at night. Then they go off to work in the morning because most people who qualify as homeless also work jobs.”
Mrs. Fulsom, who is also PATH’s executive director, saw hundreds of children line up for the Coats For Kids event sponsored by PATH on Nov. 15. About 1,800 coats were given to children,” she said.
“There were families who began lining up at 3:30 a.m. in the cold, just to be sure they would be able to get a coat,” she said. “The working poor are the potentially homeless. What an impact it would be to prevent them from being homeless in the first place.”
The Rev. Dave Handley moved to Tyler from Evanston, Ill., just a week ago and participated in One Night. He was senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Evanston for 29 years.
“This was worthy,” he said. “This drew attention to what people feel when they’re trying to get back on their feet, and that’s valuable. I was part of network in Evanston to help the homeless, but we never did anything like this.”
For information or to make donations to the Smith County Coalition for the Homeless, call Christina Fulsom at 903-597-4044, Extension 107.
Choice said he was a “better person” after the experience.
“I was cold at the park and all bundled up,” he said. “I wondered, ‘How in the world will I get through this night?’ An old friend walked by and didn’t even recognize me. I realized there’s no face to the homeless. Do we really see the face of the homeless? I was humbled by sleeping on a cot in a cold room with strangers, and that was just one night. I’m a better person for having done this.”
“This opened my eyes,” said Don Williamson, 35. “It touched me. We need to ‘do unto others.’ They (homeless) need love.”
“I never took the time to realize who the homeless were,” said Kishl Burr, whose son Christian, 12, also came to One Night Without A Home. “I’ve volunteered. I was at Coats For Kids helping out last Saturday. But now I’ll be even more mindful of people’s needs.”
Christina Fulsom, president of the Smith County Coalition for the Homeless said to the group, “Now that you have experienced at bit of who the homeless are or will be, you’ll be surprised at how many you will see. There are people living within three blocks of where we are now, in houses that should be condemned, in buildings that have been abandoned or hiding under bridges at night. Then they go off to work in the morning because most people who qualify as homeless also work jobs.”
Mrs. Fulsom, who is also PATH’s executive director, saw hundreds of children line up for the Coats For Kids event sponsored by PATH on Nov. 15. About 1,800 coats were given to children,” she said.
“There were families who began lining up at 3:30 a.m. in the cold, just to be sure they would be able to get a coat,” she said. “The working poor are the potentially homeless. What an impact it would be to prevent them from being homeless in the first place.”
The Rev. Dave Handley moved to Tyler from Evanston, Ill., just a week ago and participated in One Night. He was senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Evanston for 29 years.
“This was worthy,” he said. “This drew attention to what people feel when they’re trying to get back on their feet, and that’s valuable. I was part of network in Evanston to help the homeless, but we never did anything like this.”
For information or to make donations to the Smith County Coalition for the Homeless, call Christina Fulsom at 903-597-4044, Extension 107.
