Guest Feature: Lubbock In The Dark: Homelessness

Ruth Bradley is a crack reporter and an official Friend of the Brink. She's got a five-part series on social issues in Lubbock, Texas running in the Texas Tech student paper, the Daily Toreador. We'll link to the articles, and we'll also run them here since you have to sign up to view them on the site.

Every day in Lubbock there are stories that go untold, pain that goes unheeded, cries that go unheard. This is the beginning of an answer to those cries. This is the first story in a daily five-part series about social problems in Lubbock, such as homelessness, prostitution and abuse. This is the side of Lubbock few people ever see, these are whispers barely noticed, lives lived out in the shadows. This is Lubbock in the Dark.



Erika Cook lives behind a Dumpster. Evicted from her apartment after the friend she lived with was hospitalized, she spends her days searching for a job, her nights huddled next to a pile of the few belongings she has left. She is alone. And a few weeks ago, she was attacked.

Cook said three men jumped her, coming up from behind.

"I was way outnumbered," she said.

Since the incident, which she did not elaborate on, Cook has worked hard to avoid people, trying to stay hidden.

"I'm scared and nervous," Cook said, "and wishing I could have found a job before I lost my place."

Mary George Beyer of Family Promise of Lubbock, a non-profit agency that provides temporary care for homeless families, said many of the homeless in Lubbock are in this same situation.

"They don't want to be seen," Beyer said. "They're afraid. Many of them are afraid of being robbed, either by another homeless person or by someone who just thinks it's fun."

Because of this Lubbock has an "invisible homeless," a group of people who live inconspicuously on the streets trying to avoid perpetrators and incidentally avoiding the community in general, Beyer said.

"Because they are not seen as much as they are in bigger cities, we don't think of there being a homeless problem," said Diane Hudson, family services director for the Salvation Army of Lubbock. "Ours are more of a hidden homeless."

Hidden from harm, but also from help. Because it is difficult to find these people, it is difficult to count them, a governmental requirement when requesting grants to assist in homeless care, Beyer said. Moreover, it means that many Lubbock citizens are unaware of the problem and its severity.

In January, 260 homeless were counted in local shelters. Bob Terrell, president of the South Plains Homeless Consortium, the organization that enacted the count, said the actual number of homeless in the area is probably much higher.

"We don't have any real idea," he said. "It's almost impossible to get a handle on it."

Terrell said many homeless simply don't want to be counted. Others live in places that would be unsafe for volunteers to survey.

Based on case notes, Hudson said the Salvation Army estimates that Lubbock has close to 300 chronic homeless; that is, men and women who stay homeless.

Though some of these have no better option because of personal mental health issues, Hudson said a portion of chronic homeless choose their lifestyle deliberately.

"There's lots of different reasons for a person choosing to be homeless," Hudson said.

Mark Stone, a homeless man, said he knows homeless people who don't want to get off the streets. But people often point to them as the norm, he said, while ignoring the needs of people who genuinely need and want help.

Many of these are people who have been forced out of their homes by overwhelming circumstances. An estimated 100 Lubbock citizens are expected to lose their homes within the next few months, said Connie Hindman, executive director for Family Promise of Lubbock. Some of these are people living paycheck to paycheck, one financial disaster away from the streets. Others are hurricane evacuees, whose Federal Emergency Management Agency money is about to run out.

"I think that homelessness is the social issue of this decade," said Hindman, citing natural disasters like Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Katrina. "Being homeless could happen to anybody."

It happened to Richard Moore. While living in Dallas, he commuted nearly 20 miles to work every day. When his car broke down, he had no choice but to quit his job. Unable to find work, he lived on the streets of Dallas for a time before making his way to Lubbock.

"Crime is rampant," said Moore, speaking of Dallas. "I haven't really met a bad apple around here."

While the streets of Lubbock may be safer, Moore said shelter and programs are much more limited.

"I think here there's a lot of indifference," he said.

Assistance is also hard to find, said J.D., a resident at the Salvation Army dorms who didn't want to give his full name.

"A lot of people just don't know where to go for help," he said.

The Lubbock Salvation Army provides shelter for three nights in a row, once a month per person. According to Beyer, this is the only shelter available for men without children. Women can apply to My Father's House or sometimes Women's Protective Services. Families are eligible to apply for Family Promise of Lubbock's program, which provides housing at local churches for a small number of families. Carpenter's Church provides a place to stay during the day and allows members of the church to sleep there on cold nights.

But there is always a hot meal.

"No one should be hungry in Lubbock," said Tom Clark, a volunteer at the South Plains Food Bank's Second Helpings Soup Kitchen, which provides meals for around 150 Lubbock citizens every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Clark said the Salvation Army and Broadway Church of Christ cover the other days of the week.

The city of Lubbock also provides help with jobs. Homeless can visit the Texas Workforce Commission, use a call center at Carpenter's Church and are allowed voice mail with the Salvation Army for 90 days to enable potential employees to contact them.

Even these resources may not be enough, said Kelcie Kopf, a doctoral student in Texas Tech's College of Education who recently spent a night on the streets to learn about the homeless.

"If we want them to get jobs and keep jobs, we need to find them a place to stay off the streets," she said.

If they do find a job, homeless struggle to stay presentable, to get a good night's sleep and to find food, since the kitchens serve during business hours, Kopf said. Even if they can do all these things, they don't have a place to store their earnings, since most banks require that customers have a place of residence.

"They're put in danger because they're having to walk around the street with lots of money," Kopf said.

She said she believes Lubbock needs temporary shelters to help the homeless to get back on their feet.

Hindman said there is also a need for more affordable homes.

"Lubbock desperately needs low-cost housing," said Hindman. "We have a little, but the waiting list is so long."

Lubbock's North Overton district, one large site of low-cost housing was bought out in 2003 by McDougal Companies. Since then, the company has demolished the majority of the houses in the area to make way for construction of several mid-to-high cost housing developments.

"Short term, that was where the way affordable housing was," said Frye. "And it's all gone now."

Frye said Mayor Marc McDougal has been working on the problem, and the Mayor has met with him several times to discuss solutions.

Another problem in Lubbock is funds, particularly following the hurricanes this summer.

"I was very conflicted over the entire city of Lubbock's response to the Katrina evacuees," Beyer said. "The city of Lubbock did not reserve resources for our own."

Frye said financial contributions to Katrina and Rita evacuees also have affected Lubbock programs.

Contributions and volunteers are always needed, Hindman said.

"One thing [Lubbockites] can do is help support the organizations that are already in place," she said.

It's also important to treat the homeless with respect, Hindman said, and to give them a chance.

"So many people have the idea 'if those people would just get a job they wouldn't be homeless," she said. "Well, some of those people are working two jobs, and they are homeless."

Hindman tells the story of a man who came to Family Promise of Lubbock for help who told her he was scared to apply for the program.

"I asked 'what frightened you?'" she said. "He said 'I was so afraid of what you would think of me.'"

Mary Guetersloh, who works with the outreach ministry for St. Matthew's Church, said the way many homeless are treated makes them feel like they're "not worthy, they're trash, throw-away people." This often affects their ability to accept help.

"It's hard for them to trust in anything that comes their way," she said.

But for those who do, there is hope.

Hindman said when families leave Family Promise, they move into homes of their own. Most of them will keep these homes.

Moore enrolled in a program offered by the Lubbock Regional Mental Health Mental Retardation Center, which paid for his first month's rent. He is currently looking for a job.

J.D. is living in the dorms at Salvation Army while he works at one of their stores.

And Cook? A formerly homeless friend, who just got off the streets, offered her a place to stay.

For more information about volunteer opportunities to help the homeless in Lubbock, contact Hindman at (806) 744-5035 or Hudson at (806) 765-9434.

This is story one of "Lubbock in the Dark," a five-part series on social issues in Lubbock. Tomorrow's topic: Drug Abuse. Copyright 2006 Daily Toreador

filed: social.issues