Program Helps Homeless Residents Get Back On Their Feet

For the two nights Herb Schwalbe slept in a hospital waiting room.

He wasn’t waiting for news about a patient; the only purpose the hospital served was in providing a roof over his head.

Estranged from his family, miles from his hometown of Philadelphia and struggling with drug abuse, Schwalbe took shelter wherever he could find it: here a short and unsuccessful stint staying with a friend, there a tent in the woods, here again in a hospital waiting room.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs 2015 Report on Homelessness estimates that on a single night in January, 341 individuals living in Cherokee County were homeless.

Schwalbe no longer includes himself in the homeless count. In September 2012, his search brought him to a comfortable apartment tucked away in a quiet corner of Canton, where he is now one of 39 individuals receiving stable housing from MUST Ministries’ Cherokee Permanent Supportive Housing Program.

“If it wasn’t for this, I don’t know where I’d be,” he said, sitting casually on the armrest of the brown upholstered sofa he didn’t have three years prior.

The long-term program houses homeless individuals whose mental or physical disabilities or substance abuse disorders make it difficult for them to obtain self-sufficiency. The ultimate goal of the program, according to Rhonda Hall, Program Director, is to connect clients with the resources they need to regain stability and eventually return to independent living.

“Supportive Housing provides a safe, stable place for individuals who desire to better their lives,” she said. Clients are provided with fully-furnished, two bedroom apartments with utilities included, as well case management, toiletries, household items, food support when needed, and access to supportive services

Crystal Whitt, one of two onsite case managers, works with clients to determine personal education, employment and health goals to connect them to the resources needed to achieve those goals. Resources can include anything from obtaining food stamps or social security benefits, to physical and mental health treatment, dental services, employment services, GED classes and recovery meetings.

“Our ultimate goal is to get them back to self-sufficiency,” said Whitt, “but there’s a lot of barriers in the way that we have to address to get to there, so we try to work on what those barriers are and how we can assist them in getting there.”

These services are completely free of charge for the large portion of the resident population entering the program without any financial resources. Those who do have income contribute 30 percent towards the program, but those who don’t are often able to find employment through the required completion of 15-20 hours per week of productive outside activity.

Activities can include anything from working or looking for a job to volunteering, participating in church activities, attending recovery support groups, taking classes or working out at a gym. For Schwalbe, it meant volunteering with the City of Canton Fire Department and becoming a certified forklift operator. The Fire Chief and Fire Marshal now greet him when they see him around town, he said.

Clients come from any number of circumstances. Some lived directly on the streets or in tents in the woods, and some were referred by the Elizabeth Inn, MUST’s walk-up shelter in Marietta. Although many, like Schwalbe, are single individuals, families also make up a portion of the program’s client base.

“The need out here for families is immense,” said Whitt, who said she receives between four and six calls per day from people seeking housing. “It’s amazing how many there really are who need a place to live.”

One of these families, a mother named Michelle Smith and her 15-year-old son, were admitted to the program in 2013 after Smith’s substance abuse inhibited the two from finding housing anywhere but in the most unlivable of conditions.

“We were living in a trailer that was basically condemned, and we were living there with three other people.” Smith remembered, eyes solemn but still bright. “We wanted a change but had no resources.”

Since entering the program, Smith said she has remained sober and found employment as a supervisor at a greenhouse in the area. A housing voucher granted her by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will soon enable her and her son to find their own housing and live independently.

Rachel Castillo, Vice President of program Services at MUST, said the program is making efforts to expand in response to this need, and has purchased four new townhomes that became available to families in November.

Partly because of the high rate of mental illness, Whitt said that many are clients are admitted into the program after years of discouragement and misunderstanding from loved ones. Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety are all common mental illnesses reported by clients. Although every Supportive Housing client has at least one recorded disability, 68 percent of clients have two or more and 39 percent have three or more.

Because of this, case managers place great priority on self-esteem and positive affirmation.

“To come in and change that language, to say, you’re special and we’re here to help you accomplish your goals, is very powerful,” said Castillo.

While the program does put an emphasis on individual needs, progress towards independence is not made in isolation. Clients gather together in weekly community meetings to share news, exchange helpful information and celebrate birthdays and advances made towards self-sufficiency.

“Every person in the program is loved and accepted for who they are,” said Castillo, “so it really does become like a great big extended family.”

Community meetings also give clients the opportunity to earn “MUST Bucks” by correctly answering trivia questions related to their program agreement. They can save this currency to “purchase” items such as televisions, radios, grills and bicycles at a community-wide auction. The items are donated by members of the community, along with all the support for the program that is not covered by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Donations also allow for events like “Soleful Saturday,” on which each client is given a new or close-to-new pair of shoes. Basic essentials like underwear, socks and bedding are in constant demand.

Between the Canton-based Cherokee program and its sister program in Cobb County, MUST Permanent Supportive Housing has sheltered 115 people in the past year. According to Hall, 99 percent of these did not choose to live in homelessness.

Schwalbe doesn’t let this deter him from choosing his future, saying his dream is to eventually move out and have a home together with Smith, his girlfriend. Her dreams are equally bright.

“My outlook on everything has changed,” she said. “I have all the options in the world now.”