St. Paul's Hope for the Homeless

This picture came from Rev. Doug Horner at St. Paul's Community Church on Franklin Blvd.  There are a number of people like "Mark" who stays outside and no matter what we do will not go inside.  He is reluctant to accept any charity, but he is not a threat to himself.  This is a temporary solution that the West Side folks came up with to keep these shelter resistant folks alive.  According to Rev. Horner, "The thought behind it being this:  sometimes we can’t pass policies, or make a wave of change that helps the most vulnerable. But we can make a difference one person at a time. This small passive energy home is so well insulated that body heat will keep a person warm inside."

Here is a photo of the crew and the new “sleeping pod” - located Greater Old Brooklyn neighborhood; out in the woods on the edge of a dirt bike trail, on the edge of a vacant lot near a construction site. Thanks to the Corrado family for generously giving time, talent and money to make this a reality.  Thanks to Casey for his shop space.  Thanks to Lucy for her carpentry and patience as we laid it all out. Thanks to Tyrone the outreach worker for coordinating this effort...Just 4 days and tons of labor hours by volunteers and stipend workers with St. Paul’s. 

"Mark" has been living in a lean to for years, and there are a few others who live in the neighborhood.  Many of these guys have been hassled, beat up, frozen, etc.  They regularly hangs out at a nearby fast food place.  "Mark" is always the first one in in the morning, and all the staff know him.  A few people visit "Mark" regularly, like the volunteers from Ignatius, Labre and Care Alliance who travel around with food and blankets. 

"Mark" again was reluctant to accept charity, and didn’t want the house.  The volunteers pictured above set it up nearby anyway.  It is a temporary solution that will probably need to be moved in the Spring when construction season starts.  If you like the idea, you can donate the $500 to St. Paul's for the materials or you could volunteer to help construct the next one.  It is hoped that this is a way to build a trusting relationship with some of these guys to move them along to stability.  It is a hope to keep a person alive while we work through some of his issues, fears and suspicions. 

Thanks to all the volunteers at St. Paul's Community Church for building and moving this unit to help "Mark"

Brian Davis

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