At the beginning of the year a new survey, done by Lawrence service providers, found that there were 413 people in Lawrence who were homeless. Fifty-six percent of that number was families with children. These figures shocked many in the community because in 2005 only 113 people were identified as homeless and according to local leaders the perception was that adults were the biggest segment of the population. The Community Commission on HomelessnessThe Community Commission on Homelessness and other groups are now working to decide how to best accommodate the families that they now know exist.
“This month [the Commission] decided to put together housing options,” said Lesley Rigney, Neighborhood Programs Specialist. “A lot of service providers said we were ignoring families. Instead of the city building huge shelters there should be smaller shelters with different options.”
Helen Hartnet, a professor at the University of Kansas and member of the Commission, agrees with the idea of several small housing options, but is worried about the condition the facilities are currently in and how that affects the children staying in them.
“It’s depressing,” she said. “It’s a rough facility. There are a lot of people in a small space. It’s not pretty. People are struggling with an array of issues and it’s not conducive to ‘I’m going to be better.’”
Eileene Miller-Green knows this firsthand. She and her seven-month-old daughter have been homeless for four months. They sleep at the Salvation Army and Miller-Green spends most of her days at the Lawrence Community Shelter, while her daughter is in day-care, subsidized by the government. Miller-Green is currently in the process of getting a divorce and her daughter has been sick for the past several months.
“I had a full-time job, but since she was sick I couldn’t do the full-time job,” Miller-Green said. “When I do get a job it’s hours when there’s no day-care assistance and the buses don’t run late enough. We sleep on the floor in the chapel with another family. The day shelter is hard for one’s with children.”
Donnell Turner, who has lived in Lawrence for seventeen years and who utilizes LCS, sympathizes with Miller-Green and says that children should not have to grow up homeless.
“Kids suffer the worst,” he said. “Little ones don’t understand. They want their own room and their own toys and their own clothes. They live out on the street.”
The Salvation Army is the only shelter in town that accepts families with children for overnight care and Lieutenant Wesley Dalberg expressed concern over the current situation and how quickly progress could be made.
“There’s a gap in our service in the community,” he said. “We don’t have anyplace to send them. There are plans to help alleviate the problem, but it’s never quick enough for those in need. Change is slow to happen.”
The Lawrence Community Shelter, Salvation Army and the Community Commission on Homelessness are the primary groups available in Lawrence to help those in need. The Commission meets every second Tuesday of the month from 8:30-10:00 a.m. in the City Commission Room of City Hall.