Lowell Grisham: Organization a friend to the homeless

Organization gives people chance to begin recovery of lives

So many people live paycheck to paycheck. But what happens if there is a serious illness? Or a job loss? A spouse leaves or becomes abusive. If you don't have a social safety net -- family or generous friends to take you in -- you may become like almost 2,500 of our Northwest Arkansas neighbors: homeless.

That's where 7hills Homeless Center steps up. The largest provider of services to the homeless, 7hills serves more than 2,000 people annually. Their day center offers basic services -- food, showers, clothes, help with replacing identification cards, transportation, a mailing address, Internet access, camping gear, storage and a safe place. They offer a caring, compassionate welcome and trained case workers to solve problems and connect with community resources. And 7hills is efficient. They serve 1,700 people day shelter guests each year at an annual cost of about $140 per client.

Rachel and Joel came to booming Northwest Arkansas to get jobs. They were robbed of everything, including their IDs. Employers cannot legally hire you without an ID, and those who hire illegally usually cheat their workers. Without that little card, so many doors close. 7hills helped Rachel and Joel get their IDs replaced, and 7hills sustained them until they could get back on their feet.

Being homeless is a vulnerable situation, sometimes making people a target for robbery or violence. Being homeless is stressful and physically hard. If you get sick, you may not have access to care or medicine. You might get arrested simply for being homeless. Depression and suicide rates are high.

More than half of our homeless population are school-aged children. Bentonville's school district has the largest number by a significant amount.

The homeless look a lot like the general population. Educational attainment is about the same. Almost 38 percent are veterans; 80 percent are white. Most work. Only 9 percent of our homeless report no income. They are the working poor in a region with high housing costs.

There are people who come into 7hills Day Center who work every day. They sleep in their cars, shower at 7hills and get meals and some emotional support. They are saving their money for the day they can make a deposit on a place to live. But it's nearly impossible to live on $600 a month; that's the average income of our working homeless. The lucky ones have transportation. It's a difficult cycle to escape.

7hills has a particular passion for helping veterans who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. Their Supportive Service for Veteran Families program is a lifeline to more than 100 vets to help with housing search, moving costs, security deposits, rental and utility assistance, support groups, child care and legal services.

Some disabled veterans live in 7hills Walker Family Residential Community's permanent supportive housing, including a friend of mine who is a retired deputy sheriff. He nursed his wife through 10 years of sickness, and had nothing when she died. Frail and living in the woods, he would have died had 7hills not found him.

Michelle is a temporary resident at the Walker Community. She fled New Orleans to rescue her child from human trafficking. The 7hills case workers have helped her family of four set goals and make significant progress toward sustainability. Michelle has moved from a fast-food job into a contracted security position with a major poultry plant; she's now employed 40-plus hours. 7hills is helping her build her resources toward full stability and her own housing.

America now has the greatest number of homeless people since the Great Depression. During the past seven years, the homeless population in Northwest Arkansas has grown 20 times faster than the general population. As government services to the poor decline, it is our responsibility to help our neighbors. 7hills can manage this.

7hills has recently moved through an important transition through the good leadership of CEO Billy Rader. They are operationally sleek, serving greater numbers more efficiently. They recently moved their location without interruption of services and at almost no cost. They've reduced payroll by 46 percent and overcome a significant debt. They are a well-run organization.

7hills three programs -- the day center, the Walker Residential Community, and the Supportive Service for Veteran Families -- all run beautifully as long as the rest of us do our part to underwrite their $250,000-a-year fundraising support. That's a modest budget for such a big program.

So, regional foundations and good-hearted individuals -- do your part. Contact Charity Stillings to plan your contributions at (479) 435-6685 or by email at [email protected]. The organization's website is 7hillscenter.org.

Commentary on 11/15/2016

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