Homeless Community of St. Joseph, MO

They've lost their homes they've lost their jobs not all most neighborhoods number the homeless at around one percent of their population homelessness affects guys females and kids and is frequently dismissed as someone else's problem st. Joseph's is no exception some are fighting mental disorder some have actually been hit by a slow economy or foreclosures others are homeless by choice so who comprises our homeless like pappi much of the homeless in our town are veterans I broke down and I came in town and I met costs which is black heart I was on the streets with him he's off the streets now but he's one of the lucky ones the Veterans Administration reports million veterans are homeless at some point each year in the u.s.

Blackhawk helped Pappy turn his life around and that's frequently the case banding together to take care of their own however it's not always enough how is the city of st. Joseph working to combat homelessness the continuum care coalition utilizes a multi million dollar federal HUD grant to offer essential services to those in requirement it says the majority of st.

Joseph ´ s homeless face a variety of barriers keeping them on the streets but state the most obvious response is generally the secret to rehabilitation what we need to do honestly everyone get together in this town start trying to find places to live regional emergency shelters include the Salvation Army the YWCA and the cold-weather shelter over 200 people are in long-term encouraging real estate sponsored by Catholic Charities and the YW in 2006 community missions open the Haven and after that a couple of years later Judah house as soon as real estate is found what's next even with help the transition can be challenging the Missouri Department of Mental Health sponsors a program called shelter Plus that program requires the specific to participate in therapy and Rehab in exchange for a location to live Andy was on the street for ten years of his young life got tired of being on the streets simply want to change it once a desire modification however while some want to alter some pick to be homeless with their entire life in a knapsack they live near the river in improvised shelters made of cages or squat unlawfully in uninhabited properties why would anybody pick this life for the lake Blackhawk it was about the liberty the river was his home and the people everyone monitors everybody were a tight household however this option is not without risk we assist each other out and do what we can to keep in just the past year our homeless neighborhood has actually seen 2 murders several thefts and assaults we've come to the conclusion that the idle time of not doing anything is where we all get in difficulty if we don't have something to do we will find something to do it's not always excellent catch developed a day Center for the homeless to assist incorporate them into the mainstream through a brand-new project called rags to riches the making and selling of rag rugs just for them to watch that shift happen here's some old rags that were ineffective they were throwing away disposed of and that's ended up being woven back together like they would in society and now helpful again and attractive and and efficient he says the very best method to help is to have an open mind and an open heart to love on them rather of judge them or attempt to figure out why they're here we're just attempting to help them move you understand to anywhere they wish to go me first of all I want to be part of the everyday working people.