To the Editor:
I read with interest the comments from two county administrators about some homeless people they met who did not want help. I would like to invite Mr. Thorton and Mr. Pierson to meet some homeless people that do want help. Please feel free to visit Cape Hope, the Branches, and Family Promise (who has a waiting list of homeless families in need of safe shelter).
We have homeless grocery store workers and school employees living in their cars. We have moms with children who lived in campgrounds this summer because it was all they could afford. Now they are homeless since the campgrounds closed. We are working with single parents and their kids living in one room motels and rooming houses because there is no affordable housing. We see people living on social security that cannot afford housing and are on waiting lists for low-income units. They can wait up to one and a half years for an opening.
Women in their 50s, 60s, and 70s are sleeping in front of Shoprite and Petsmart with all their belongings because they have nowhere to go. It is a public health hazard and a disgrace. Any homeless that come to us with addiction issues are referred to CARES for treatment. Many of the homeless have mental health issues and are wary of turning to people they don’t know for assistance. The woods are full of homeless living in tents. So, again I invite you to step into our world and see what is really going on. We need affordable housing, immediate mental health services, a place of shelter in the inclement weather, and a community that is serious about making an effort to address the problem of homelessness.
– Barbara Allison, Erma
