story courtesy of the Tyler Morning Telegraph
By REBECCA HOEFFNER
Staff Writer
Off U.S. Highway 271 in Tyler, you'll find a secluded campsite in the woods. It's well-planned and organized — complete with landscaping, a makeshift stove, shower and an American flag hanging from a tree.
Three people have lived in the tents here for years. They all took part in the Point in Time survey Thursday, organized by Gateway to Hope, formerly the Smith County Homeless Coalition.
The Thursday survey took place simultaneously across the state — volunteers headed out to homeless shelters and food kitchens, and paid visits to areas where those without homes are known to congregate.
"We always talk about the numbers, but this is a group of people who don't have a voice," said Andrea Wilson, director of social services at The Salvation Army in Tyler and fourth-time volunteer for the survey. "Today, they get to sit down and be important to someone. These are the people who others avoid making eye contact with, and today they get to sit down and have a conversation with someone who's clean and smells nice."
The surveys ask simple questions: "How long have you been homeless?" "What do you attribute your homelessness to?" "How many people are in your family?" The surveys also ask demographic questions such as education level, age and race. The data that can be gathered is crucial for getting grants to meet needs of Smith County residents. It is completely voluntary, but the volunteers hope that those they try to survey comply.
"If you're living on the street, your trust level is going to be very low," Gateway to Hope volunteer Helen Thronton said.
But the three in the encampment, who gave only their first names, didn't seem to mind having visitors. One apologized for the mess, gesturing to some dirty dishes.
All three are looking for work. Like many of the 9.7 percent of Americans who Gallup reports are unemployed, they are having trouble finding anything. Two of the three, Ron and John, even have some college experience. But for John, a Vietnam War veteran, his high blood pressure complicates what he is able to do. And even though he is eligible for veteran medical benefits, horror stories have scared him off from seeking treatment.
His volunteer, Kim Murley, scolds him for not taking his blood pressure medication, which he finds intolerable because of the "cotton mouth" it gives him.
"I don't mean to nag you," she said with a laugh.
"No, that's all right," the 60-year-old said back with a laugh. "It's good to be nagged sometimes."
All the volunteers smile encouragingly throughout the long survey and get their hosts to smile back.
After the group jokes their way through the survey, the three say goodbye to the volunteers with strong handshakes and eye contact.
Last year's survey counted 306 homeless, but Christina Fulsom, executive director at People Attempting to Help, suspects the number actually was about 500.
It's difficult to count everyone when there's no guarantee of where they will be. The group who surveyed the three living in the encampment searched for an hour without finding anyone in the wooded area. The survey administrators usually hope for a cold night, because people tend to gather at shelters to get out of the cold. This year, the weather was much warmer.
Because of the recent closing of the East Texas Rescue Mission, a men's homeless shelter in Tyler, and because people still are losing their homes in the economy, Ms. Fulsom suspects there are more homeless in Tyler than last year, if everyone was counted Thursday night. When the groups returned to the PATH office, there were 136 surveys, but more will be included from the East Texas Crisis Center and WW Mission, a new nonprofit organization in Tyler, over the weekend.
Of the 306 that were counted last year, 68 were children, but Tyler ISD has more than 100 children registered as homeless, Ms. Fulsom said.
"Most people who are homeless are not the stereotypical 40-something male with a mental illness and drug addiction," Ms. Fulsom said. "Most of them are women with children. The average homeless person is a 9-year-old boy."
Now more comprehensive in the amount of help it has at its disposal, Gateway to Hope is a coalition in Smith County made up of nonprofit groups, state departments and local law enforcement agencies dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
ABOVE: A member of the Tyler homeless survey team speaks to Margaret, who originally is from Troup and lived in Seattle and has been homeless for almost 20 years. - Photo by Jaime R. Carrero
