Montgomery Homeless Count Reaches About 550 So Far
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An exclusive story — the Mid-Alabama Coalition for the Homeless (MACH) is hitting the streets and shelters to find out how many people are homeless in Montgomery. They want to make sure these people get the help they need. The face of homelessness has no race; no gender; no age. The stories of why people end up on the street or in a shelter are all different. “I came here I was having family problems and this was really the only place I could go at the moment,” Said Amber Hutchinson, who wants to become a model. But it may be a long road ahead without a permanent place to stay. For now, she’s at the Salvation Army, joining a list of nearly 500 people who have stayed at one of Montgomery’s 13 shelters. The numbers are STILL rolling in as MACH surveys people in shelters and on the streets — not just to get a census of Montgomery’s homeless population, but to also find out their needs. “Substance abuse, medical issues, food, shelter… Whatever they need the most and that helps us create our programs, modify our programs and that helps us decide what the best use of our resources are,” Said Molly Stone, MACH executive director. MACH volunteers also went to different areas in Montgomery where homeless people are known to congregate. They say they found about 50 people living on the street in just one night. The group gave out food, hygiene products, clothes and blankets to those on the streets and in shelters. “It lifts the spirits of our clients more than it does anything else,” Said Major Walter Strong with the Salvation Army. It’s help that lifts the spirits of clients like Hutchinson, who is thankful for the support. “I’ve came across a few people that were not able to stay at a shelter because they didn’t have ID’s or certain things they needed to stay here and I think them helping is great,” Said Hutchinson. So far, the homeless count is at about 550 people in Montgomery. Last year MACH the census found there were 915 homeless people, 81 of them were not staying in shelters. Officials hope that number will decrease now that there are more shelters open. We should find out the final results of the survey a few days.
