Winter hard on homeless
Being homeless when it’s cold isn’t merely uncomfortable ” it’s painful.
“It hurts our fingers, our toes,” said Jeannie Marie New Moon, who camps by the Kansas River. “Our bodies cramp up from the cold. It’s a hard life.”
After the latest cold wave hit Lawrence this week, officials say more of the city’s poor and homeless are searching for ways to stay warm.
“We’re serving 46 people a day,” said Tami Clark, director of the Community Drop-In Center, which provides food, warmth and other services to the city’s poor. “Last year at this time, it was 33 people a day. This is obviously the season that is harshest to people on the streets.”
Until now, the homeless have been left to their own devices in the afternoons, when the Salvation Army shelter and the drop-in center are closed. That leads to some creative solutions.
“I go to the library, or to the coffee house to drink coffee, or to the community building to play basketball,” said Dedrick Culbertson, who has been staying at the shelter for four months.
That will change next week.
Salvation Army Administrator Rich Forney said Wednesday that starting Monday his church’s gymnasium at 946 N.H. would be open as a “warming center” from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Coffee will be served and a television and games will be available to help people pass the time.
Dedrick Culbertson, 27, who recently moved from Ohio and is now homeless in Lawrence, says that after a night's stay at the Salvation Army shelter and part of a morning at the Community Drop-In Center, he and other homeless are pretty much out in the cold. Since a new cold wave hit Lawrence this week, officials say more of the city's poor and homeless are searching for ways to stay warm.
“It’s cold,” Forney said. “We want these people to have someplace to go and not just be on the street.”
That will still leave a four-hour gap from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. when the shelter re-opens for the evening. Forney said his organization didn’t have the staff or finances to keep the church open during those hours.
Sarah Coleman was homeless during the winter of 2000-2001. She said she ended up with frostbite on her legs.
“The worst part is getting sick and ending up in the hospital,” she said. “I hate the hospital.”
Clark said her organization was seeking donations of hats, gloves and socks to distribute to people who need them.
“People can’t survive on the streets without some kind of shelter during these harsh winter months,” Clark said. “And this winter seems unusually harsh.”
| Open Shelter partnership near, leader saysSalvation Army Administrator Rich Forney had nothing more to say Wednesday about his organization’s efforts to provide a shelter for homeless people who drink, in cooperation with Lawrence Open Shelter Inc.”We cannot (comment) at this time, but we are very close to making an announcement,” he said.City commissioners Tuesday tabled a proposal to use the Carnegie Library building at Ninth and Vermont streets as a temporary shelter after hearing news of an open shelter. Commissioners appeared unlikely to approve the Carnegie idea either way.Dudley Crow of Lawrence Open Shelter Inc. was not available for comment.Staying warmThese organizations are among those providing a place to help the homeless stay warm during the day.¢ Salvation Army, 946 N.H., 843-4188.¢ Community Drop-In Center, 214 W. 10th St., 832-8864.¢ Lawrence Interdenominational Nutritional Kitchen, 221 W. 10th St., 331-3663. |
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