CRESTVIEW — You've probably never met Daniel or Mary. They keep to themselves, out of the public eye.
They are homeless. And often misunderstood, as people may not grasp the challenges they face, homeless advocate Judy Christopher said.
“These people live a whole different life than us,” she said.
Everyday tasks many people take for granted — such as charging a cell phone or obtaining needed medication and health care — are difficult, Daniel said.
Mary, who has dissociative identity disorder — "one minute she's Mary and the next she sounds like a sailor," Christopher said — needs help with her multiple personalities. But with cumbersome paperwork, the system isn't working for her, Christopher said.
The same is true for one homeless person who needed a birth certificate to get state identification, but would have needed a photo ID to obtain the birth certificate, she said.
Christopher, a street worker who volunteers with Crestview's HOPE Network, sees these kinds of situations all the time.
And, knowing what she does, laments the stigma and stereotypes associated with homelessness.
“If homeless get arrested, it’s for trespassing, because they need a place to stay until HUD (The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) gets an opening for them,” Christopher said. “It’s not for burglaries or molesting children. The homeless just want to be left alone.”
Crestview Police Officer Sam Kimmons confirmed that much of homeless people's crime is minor.
"The biggest thing we still get is panhandling around the entrance to Wal-Mart," he said. "We get calls from people traveling down the road when someone approaches their window … You don’t really see the panhandling occurring at the north end of the city…
"A lot of the transients down by the interstate just are trying to get enough money to buy whatever provisions they need before they move on to the next town."
Daniel said he and other homeless avoid transients who abuse drugs and alcohol, steal from the homeless, and give them a bad reputation.
“There’s no drugs or nothing,” he said in a Feb. 3 interview at his camp near Cabana Way. “We don’t put up with anything bad.”
SHELTER NEEDED
Crestview lacks a shelter where the homeless can stay while administrative processes to establish benefits such as Medicaid, Social Security and veterans’ care are processed and approved, Christopher said.
And because some who are homeless lack internet access, and Crestview lacks a public transit system, using the library’s computers is not possible.
So Christopher helps homeless people file their applications, and deals with government bureaucracy to establish their benefits.
Mayor David Cadle is helping homeless advocates identify available properties that could be acquired for a homeless shelter facility.
Meanwhile, “right now, our only choice is to work with them (the homeless) while they stay in the woods," Christopher said.
When the weather cools, there is a place to stay. Community of Christ, New Beginnings Church, First Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church and Lifepoint Church regularly offer cold weather shelters in Crestview.
"Our only relief is the local churches that put them up if it’s below 40 (degrees Fahrenheit)," Christopher said. But God forbid if it’s 41 and raining."
HAND UP, NOT OUT
In addition to cold weather shelters, free meals are available. Central Baptist Church, Our Savior Lutheran Church, Lifepoint, Community of Christ, First Presbyterian and First UMC are among nonprofits that operate soup kitchens.
But nonprofits like the HOPE Network and Crestview Area Shelter for the Homeless do not provide just hand outs; rather, they offer a "hand up," Christopher said.
Most of the homeless don’t want to depend on charity; they simply want to get back on their feet and into an affordable home, she said.
Before that time comes, they tend to keep a low profile, Kimmons said.
"Based on my experience, most of the people who live in the woods … try to stay out of sight until they get on their feet," he said.
For people like Daniel, medical care is also a priority. Cancer has eaten into his ear; after Christopher took him to a pro-bono doctor’s appointment, he learned he will likely lose it.
Add a bum leg, and much as Daniel would like to work while awaiting his Section 8 housing application's approval, he physically can't handle much labor, Christopher said.
HOW TO HELP
Homeless advocates counted between 30 and 50 homeless people at local soup kitchens and encampments.
Ignoring them won’t make them go away, Christopher said. The solution is helping them get the health care they need and finding them a permanent home.
“They’ve been here and they always will be,” she said. “The question is how to help them. I think we could cut our numbers in half with just a little bit of help from the community.”
Christopher said it is touching when well-meaning people try to help the homeless, but she advises leaving assistance to local nonprofit organizations.
Kimmons also advised not giving hand-outs.
"If you give them money, a large amount could be spent on alcohol," he said.
Christopher advises against it for a different reason.
“If people stop giving them handouts, then they’ll come to us,” she said. “There is an option to giving handouts.”
These options include volunteering at the HOPE Network’s soup kitchens and cold weather shelters, and donating to the Crestview Area Shelter for the Homeless fund at any Regions Bank.
But that requires a certain compassion.
“Some homeless will tell you they don’t want help, they’re just fine, but what they’re saying is they don’t trust you. It takes a relationship and them knowing that you really, really, care.”
So if someone volunteers to help the homeless, they must remain dedicated, Christopher said.
“People meant well and started working with these people and then they quit,” she said. “If you’re going to start it, you need to finish it.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview's misunderstood homeless face 'a whole different life'
