Who are the homeless?
When we hear the word “homeless” what do we picture? Faceless shapes floating on the periphery of our lives as if they exist on a different plane?
That may be what they want you to think, hiding behind newspapers at the library, or sitting at the bus station pretending to wait for the next departure.
David Gleason, a social worker and substance abuse counselor at Vinfen, will tell you the homeless are our neighbors. It is time to place faces and names on the homeless citizens of Cape Cod.
Do you know Mark? He lost his job two years ago at a nursing home after 15 years of service. He had been sleeping in his car at the mall in Falmouth ever since. His health deteriorated physically, mentally and spiritually.
That’s where the work of the team at Vinfen begins, Vinfen, a small unassuming organization in the heart of the Cape, on Route 28 in Yarmouth, operates a very important service: reaching out to the homeless on Cape Cod.
The name Vinfen comes from the first three letters of two crossing streets where Vinfen originated 25 years ago in Boston: Vining and Fenwood. The Cape office opened eight years ago when the people working there quietly began their mission: to end homelessness on the Cape, one person at a time.
Vinfen’s responsibilities work like an axle in the wheel of all the services available to homeless people. Their outreach mission brings them all over the Cape to find people in need. They also educate not only the homeless, but those who can help (you and me).
To the Cape’s credit, many facilities do exist to help our homeless citizens: the Noah Shelter, The Salvation Army, Champ House to name just a few.
How would someone like Mark know how to get in touch with the right services? That’s where Gleason, Kerry Schuller, the Vinfen director in Yarmouth, and other members of the team come in. They literally get in a van bringing coffee and donuts provided by Donut Works, and find people at risk.
By visiting and talking, they begin to build a trust with people who for many reasons have lost trust in their fellow human beings. Once a relationship has been established, the team can devise a plan.
Mark, for example, got the medical treatment he needed and temporary housing. Then he received training, landed a job, and now has a permanent place to live and a new life.
Vinfen will not leave Mark at this point, however. The team will stay in touch and perhaps someone like Mark may help out at Vinfen to share his story and advice with others who are battling their way out of homelessness.
Gleason is often asked how many homeless people there are on the Cape. That is a difficult question to answer, because so many would rather make it on their own than check in to a shelter and seek help.
If this sounds implausible, think about how you feel at 5 p.m. Your home is your sanctuary, where you are protected from the outside world. How difficult would it be at the end of a weary day, trying to blend in with the working world, to squeeze into a crowded shelter where you knew few of your roommates?
Trying to overcome this obstacle, Gleason and others go out and find people who need help. Perhaps they might hear of someone who is living in an unsafe situation and could use the help and guidance of Vinfen.
That’s how they found Larry, who was living in an overturned rowboat in Provincetown. Larry had no job or family to rely on in his time of need. After gaining Larry’s trust by talking to him and frequently checking up on him, Gleason got Larry the help he needed, and he is now living on his own, a productive member of society.
Some of you may be filling in lots of details about Larry or Mark that may include phrases like “substance abuser” or “drain on society,” but is that fair? We can never know the degree or form of another’s pain. There can be many reasons why someone may dally while the rest of us plod ahead, and the people at Vinfen will share their insights on this matter. Not only do they educate their clients to help them get jobs, but they will educate anyone who is willing to listen about the homeless situation.
As Gleason says, no one wakes up one day and says, “I can’t wait to be homeless,” or “I can’t wait to become a drug addict.”
We see people in pain everyday, but we only recognize it if it’s on the outside, while Gleason, Schuller and others at Vinfen have learned to recognize inner pain. When you are trained you can see it in panicked eyes when they’re not cast down from shame and embarrassment.
What can we do? Those of us who are presently blessed with our lives intact, connected and secure? First, we can give thanks for our blessings. Then we can call Vinfen and ask. They might suggest donating blankets, which are sorely needed right now.
Marion Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, said it beautifully, “If we think we have ours and don’t owe any time or money or effort to help those left behind, then we are a part of the problem rather than the solution to the fraying social fabric that threatens all Americans.”
Call Vinfen to become part of the solution: 508-790-8530
BettyAnn Lauria is a teacher who lives in Yarmouthport. Her column runs the third Monday of every month. E-mail her at tlauria@attbi.com
Reprinted by permission from The Cape Cod Times © 2003
