Homeless Community of St. Joseph, MO

They've lost their houses they've lost their tasks not all most communities number the homeless at around one percent of their population homelessness affects males ladies and kids and is often dismissed as another person's problem st. Joseph's is no exception some are battling mental disorder some have actually been struck by a slow economy or foreclosures others are homeless by choice so who comprises our homeless like pappi a lot of the homeless in our town are veterans I broke down and I was available in town and I met expense which is black heart I was on the streets with him he's off the streets now however 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 assisted Pappy turn his life around which's often the case banding together to look after their own but it's not always adequate how is the city of st. Joseph working to fight homelessness the continuum care coalition utilizes a multi million dollar federal HUD grant to supply vital services to those in requirement it says most of st.

Joseph ´ s homeless face a number of barriers keeping them on the streets however say the most obvious answer is normally the secret to rehabilitation what we require to do honestly everybody get together in this town begin 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 housing sponsored by Catholic Charities and the YW in 2006 neighborhood objectives open the Haven and then a couple of years later on Judah home when real estate is found what's next even with assistance the transition can be difficult the Missouri Department of Mental Health sponsors a program called shelter Plus that program requires the private to participate in therapy and Rehab in exchange for a place to live Andy was on the street for 10 years of his young life got tired of being on the streets just wish to change it as soon as a desire modification however while some want to alter some choose to be homeless with their whole life in a knapsack they live near the river in improvised shelters made from crates or squat illegally in uninhabited homes why would anybody pick this life for the lake Blackhawk it was about the freedom the river was his house and individuals everybody supervises everyone were a tight family but this choice is not without threat we help each other out and do what we can to keep in just the past year our homeless neighborhood has seen two murders several thefts and attacks we've come to the conclusion that the idle time of refraining from doing anything is where we all get in trouble if we do not have something to do we will discover something to do it's not always great catch developed a day Center for the homeless to help incorporate them into the mainstream through a new task called rags to riches the making and selling of rag carpets just for them to enjoy that transition happen here's some old rags that were useless they were throwing away discarded which's become woven back together like they would in society and now helpful again and attractive and and efficient he says the best way to assist is to have an open mind and an open heart to love on them rather of judge them or attempt to determine why they're here we're just trying to assist them move you know to any place they wish to go me firstly I wish to become part of the everyday working people.