The trick to helping the homeless is to remember they are people, the director of the Topeka Rescue Mission told about 40 members of the Lawrence Coalition on Homeless Concerns on Thursday night.

When the homeless are treated like neighbors — not strangers — it seems natural to develop a successful shelter that focuses on rehabilitation and capitalizes on volunteerism, said the Rev. Barry Feaker.

Feaker showed slides of the mission’s 24-hour shelter and answered questions from people who hope Lawrence some day will have a similar facility.

The Topeka shelter, which houses 2,000 different people and serves 160,000 meals each year, is run on a $1.6 million budget completely void of government money.

Sixty-four percent of the shelter’s financing comes from people, and 600 different people volunteer there every month.

The Topeka shelter started with a concerted effort by several religious and business leaders as well as homeless people. Feaker said its success was a result of those who cared about the cause being willing to face public opposition and “suffer” with the homeless.

Furthermore, he said, organization was key. If the Lawrence coalition looks serious, people will start donating, he said.

Many people expressed concern about the plight of the homeless in Lawrence, arguing that local government doesn’t do enough to help them.

In nearly a decade of fighting for a 24-hour shelter, little progress had been made, said Marilyn Roy, Lawrence.

But she was encouraged by the presentation.

“The right group of people, the right time — yes, it could succeed,” she said.