THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510250448
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: United Way
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
When his leg became infected after an accident on the job last month, Robert Beemer was hospitalized and could not work. He also could not afford a place for his family to live.
``We did not know where we were going,'' said Beemer, 32.
Their solution was the Haven Family Center, a shelter at 131 D View Ave. in Norfolk that provides temporary housing and services.
``It was not a financial or family problem that put us here,'' Beemer said Monday. ``It was urgent need. It wasn't something we could set money aside for.''
Beemer, a former truck driver, had moved to Norfolk for local work while his family remained in Connecticut. His wife of 14 years and their four children - Christina , 11, Timothy, 10, Lorraine, 9, and Kimberley, 8 - joined him in late September and were staying in a hotel when Beemer suffered the leg injury.
A few years earlier he had injured the leg in a motorcycle accident; steel bolts had been used to repair the damage. One day while moving furniture, he hit the leg on a dresser, causing swelling and an infection.
The new injury required surgery, and he had to have an intravenous tube placed in his leg.
``When I came out,'' he said, ``we were more or less homeless.''
It was then the Beemers discovered The Haven Family Center.
Liz Brickhouse, executive director, said the center is designed to help people get back on their feet.
``We can't change people, but we can give them the opportunity to make changes,'' Brickhouse said.
Beemer's leg is healing, and he said he is looking forward to working again. His wife, Karen, has a temporary job cleaning the shelter, from which she receives a voucher.
Brickhouse said the voucher system enables people to work instead of receiving a handout.
``We really try to support people and give them a choice and not to do that for them,'' she said.
The Haven Family Center, with a $203,000 annual budget, operates a four-phase program ranging from short-term, 30-day housing to planned transitional apartments, Brickhouse said.
Nine families are living in the center, which can accommodate 38 people. Brickhouse said she hopes the permanent apartments will be ready for families within a year.
``When we have the transitional housing going, that will be . . . a lot of opportunities for families to succeed,'' she said.
The average stay at the center is 2 1/2 months. Most residents are young, single mothers with two or three children. Cases that require in-depth counseling are referred to outside agencies.
``We turn away a lot of families, about three families a day,'' Brickhouse said.
Children in danger and people who may be living in a car or a condemned building take priority, she said.
The Haven Family Center became a Class II United Way agency last year, meaning it gets money from United Way only when donors specifically request that their contributions go to the center.
Brickhouse said the shelter hopes to apply next year for Class I status, under which it would receive regular funding from the agency's overall pool of donations.
The shelter, Beemer said, does not just help someone get by, it helps them get on their feet.
``I appreciate them being there for us,'' Beemer said. ``We hope that when we get on our feet we'll be able to help somebody.'' MEMO: For more information on the Haven Family Center, call 587-4202.
ILLUSTRATION: UNITED WAY OF SOUTH HAMPTON ROADS
STAFF chart
SOURCE: United Way
by CNB