THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 14, 1995 TAG: 9504120164
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 165 lines
EACH FALL AND WINTER evening, a little after 7 p.m., a line begins to form on a street corner in Norfolk.
One by one, they come - mostly men, a few women; some young, some old. They have one thing in common: None has a place to spend the night.
One recent evening, 60 men and seven women waited for the bus from the Norfolk Emergency Shelter Team, known as NEST, to take them to Oak Grove United Methodist Church in Chesapeake.
``Why do we have to leave Norfolk?'' someone called out.
``Because we want to help, too,'' answered Ken Sydow, a church volunteer.
NEST spread from Norfolk to Chesapeake in March, as Oak Grove and Oaklette United Methodist churches joined the program.
``NEST started when we saw people sleeping on the steps of Chrysler Hall and huddled in alley doorways,'' said Lee Green, one of the founders. ``And then I jingled the keys to our church and thought of all that heated empty space.''
She and her husband, Dale Gauding, attend the Unitarian Church of Norfolk. She and Gauding discussed a ``what if'' scenario with others in the church. What if we could help these people? What if we could persuade area churches to provide simple meals? What if they would provide a place to spend the night?
Green and Gauding won approval from their church and then presented the idea to other Norfolk churches. The first year, 12 churches agreed to provide meals and shelter for one week each.
``We are doing what churches are supposed to be doing,'' said Bob Hutchinson, a volunteer bus driver.
The shelter week began on Wednesday with the transfer of donated mats and blankets to the church that had agreed to be host. The plan was simple: the homeless guests would arrive in the evening for food and shelter and depart about 7 the next morning.
``No paperwork, no forms, no questions,'' said Green. ``We wanted to keep things simple. We just wanted to provide every human's basic needs - food, shelter and safety.''
This year about 37 churches, synagogues and the Hunton YMCA participated either in providing space or donating goods. Each has taken a week or more to shelter those who have nowhere to go. Many weeks two churches are assigned the same dates to house the more than 100 homeless that hear about NEST through the street grapevine.
NEST receives no local, state or federal funds. It operates entirely with volunteers and donations. Those who show up for meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of every month compose the NEST board.
Even the guests occasionally contribute. Gauding said a man staying in the shelter program once gave him $40 from the first paycheck he had earned in almost a year.
The line tightened as the donated yellow school bus pulled up to the stop.
``Hello, Antonio. Dwight, David, James. How are you doing Julian?'' Gauding called out to familiar faces as he surveyed the line.
Oak Grove could only accommodate about 45 of the 60 people in line. Thirty other people, assigned to First Lutheran Church, had already been transported there.
Sydow and Gauding made a list of names and passed out numbers while they held matching numbers to draw for seats on the bus. As numbers were called out, the lucky ones got on the bus until 45 seats were taken.
Those left standing on the corner were given referrals to the Union Mission, but a couple of men grumbled and refused. They gathered their belongings and wandered down the street.
Sydow said the Missions Committee at Oak Grove wanted to find ways to help their own community. They attended NEST meetings, observed the program and introduced the information to church members, reminding them that there is no homeless shelter in Chesapeake. Green and Gauding visited several times to explain how the program worked and answered questions about safety, liability and insurance.
There are no sermons, no religious tracts and no counseling. Special requests and needs are quietly handled by Green and Gauding as the need arises. They fill prescriptions, wade through social services paperwork and sometimes provide transportation to appointments.
Hutchinson, a retiree, and Gauding share bus-driving duty. Green and Gauding stop by the host churches every night to lend support to the volunteers and to check on their charges. Aggressive behavior, alcoholic beverages, substance abuse or sometimes, as Gauding said, ``being too mouthy'' can put a guest back on the street.
At Oak Grove and at Oaklette Sunday school classes, youth groups, Boy Scout troops, families, women's circles and the United Methodist Men signed up for shifts to serve as greeters or to set up, prepare a meal or to sleep overnight.
Local restaurants and businesses donated meals, toiletries and bread. Womble Realty Co. donated 100 pairs of socks.
In Oak Grove Church's fellowship hall, the bedding was arranged with an area cordoned off for the women. The tables were set for dinner, and there were dozens of sandwiches, plenty of soup and gallons of coffee.
``No one will go to bed hungry tonight,'' said Eunice Abernathy, as fellow members of her Builder's Bible school class prepared Wednesday night's meal.
After dinner, many guests claimed a mat and settled their belongings around them. By 9 p.m., snores echoed around the room. A few read magazines, and a table of six men, armed with fresh coffee, set up a fast-paced card game.
``This is one place I never thought I would be,'' said Dwayne Mainer. ``I never thought I would be homeless. I've always worked and taken care of myself.''
When Green learned that Mainer is a diabetic and had not been taking his insulin, she arranged for him to see a doctor.
``Lack of transportation, the frustration of a fistful of forms and often poor communication skills keep those who need help on the fringes,'' said Green.
Ken Spence, a native of the Virgin Islands, confessed to using crack cocaine.
``I left the drug environment to try to better myself,'' said Spence. ``But it's hard to start over when you are on the bottom.''
Spence said he had slept in the shadows at Norfolk's Scope and had eaten food thrown away by others. He once washed dishes at a Norfolk restaurant, but was fired for taking food out of the garbage.
``So much food that had not been touched,'' said Spence. ``And so many go hungry.''
Spence said going without showers was one of the worst parts of life on the streets.
``I try hard to get work, but after days of no showers and dirty clothes who's going to talk to me?''
William Hawkins works occasionally as a painter or plasterer and has been staying with NEST for two months.
``But I'm saving my money so I can get a place by summer.'' he said. ``I like staying here so I can sleep. You know - not being scared that something's going to happen.''
``Being safe is a good feeling,'' repeated Mainer. ``Everyone here is scared, whether they admit it or not. Lots of us don't belong, and being homeless can ruin a good man. You don't shower or shave. You get hungry. You develop an attitude. You drift, watching boats and sea gulls at Waterside.''
Charles F. McKeen said he has applied for a job as a security officer. McKeen, who said he is retired from the Navy, rubbed his rheumy eyes. Then he pulled his blanket over his head to dream some more.
Oak Grove, Oaklette and Greenbrier Presbyterian Churches are interested in bringing NEST back to Chesapeake next winter.
``For a few hours each day, these people want to forget about being homeless and know that someone cares,'' said a volunteer at Oaklette Church. MEMO: For more information about the NEST program, call 622-2549.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
ABOUT THE COVER
Charles McKeen would have had no place to spend the night if Oak
Grove United Methodist Church in Chesapeake had not opened its doors
to the homeless.[color cover photo]
The homeless line up at a downtown Norfolk intersection to wait for
the NEST bus to Chesapeake. On this night, a lottery drawing
narrowed the group to the maximum 45.
Just after 6 a.m., Phil Morgan passes out juice for the homeless,
who also receive a breakfast in a bag before they are given a ride
back on the bus to Norfolk.
ABOVE: Members of the men's group at Oak Grove United Methodist
Church prepared a dinner - dozens of sandwiches, plenty of soup and
gallons of coffee. LEFT: Ken Spence, a native of the Virgin Islands,
gets in a hand of cards before the 10 p.m. lights out.
Before catching the early morning bus back to Norfolk, Charlie
McKeen reads a book in a hallway at the Fellowship Hall at Oak
Grove. McKeen, retired from the Navy, says he has applied for a job
as a security officer.
KEYWORDS: HOMELESS INDIGENT SOUP KITCHEN EMERGENCY SHELTER CHURCH
HAMPTON ROADS by CNB