THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 13, 1995 TAG: 9511130075
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
With colder weather coming on, homeless people turn to the refuge offered by area churches that participate in the city's Winter Shelter Program.
But until the Volunteers of America opened its evening reception center near the resort area this month, the homeless in Virginia Beach had no central site to receive them. For some years, they were picked up at various locations and taken to the city's Social Services building, where they registered and awaited transportation to a church.
That changed with the new reception center, which now appears likely to expand to an all-day operation.
Now, beginning at 7 each evening, homeless people are registered at the center, 838 Virginia Beach Blvd., before an 8:30 p.m. bus ride to one of 29 churches, which provide food and sleeping quarters on a rotating basis.
Funding for the new center comes from federal grants intended to promote cooperation at the city level to help the homeless. Virginia Beach was among 10 Virginia cities that received funding - including Norfolk and Portsmouth - from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Virginia Beach received a $114,000 grant. More than half - $64,000 - will go to Volunteers of America to expand the evening reception center into an all-day operation, which will offer counseling and referrals for the homeless.
Contracts between Virginia Beach's recipient organizations and the state are being reviewed by the state attorney general and should be signed within ``the next week or so,'' said Michael Shank, mental health program consultant for Virginia's Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services.
Volunteers of America is ready to hire staff and open during the day as soon as contracts are signed, said Deborah Maloney, who runs VOA's Winter Shelter Program.
Virginia Beach advocates have long pushed for a day center where homeless people can be directed to the services that can best help them. Also needed were showers and a place where people can leave their belongings. Maloney said showers still seem beyond the center's reach.
Wednesday evening, a beaming Maloney oversaw the registration of 47 homeless people.
A long list of benefactors was responsible for refurbishing the city building.
Kenneth Copeland was one of those who pitched in to turn the inside and outside into a bright, welcoming place, Maloney said. Copeland, whose sign business is close by, was moved by ``the distress'' he saw on the faces of homeless people as they went to the center.
``They're real people with real needs,'' he said. ``The community has a lot of resources. All you have to do is ask. Many want to get involved but don't know how to help.''
And some of the homeless themselves got involved in the work.
Carl Butler and a man who gave only his first name, Tim, helped clean and paint.
``We're doing all the work ourselves,'' said Tim, pointing to the newly painted walls - a buff background with blue and maroon stripes.
He said he has been homeless for five years, and while he manages to find work during the busy summer tourist season, he said he can't find employment when winter comes.
Butler, a longtime user of the Winter Shelter Program, served on the city's Homeless Advisory Committee last winter.
Maloney, the shelter program director, was exuberant but a bit cautious about the day service center, noting that contract language was still not final.
The city received $800,000 in HUD money last year, and the Homeless Advisory Committee recommended that it be used to build or buy a permanent shelter. The City Council has yet to act on that recommendation.
Other Virginia Beach organizations that will receive funding are Samaritan House, $10,000; Judeo Christian Outreach Center, $10,000; Vets House, $10,000; and the city's Social Services Department will get $20,000. These funds are earmarked for transitional housing, food, emergency hotel and motel placement, and referral services.
The grant money is expected to benefit 520 homeless people in Virginia Beach and 4,000 statewide, Shank said.
KEYWORDS: HOMELESS SHELTER INDIGENT by CNB