Programs Offer Help for the Homeless

From the West Alabama Newsroom–

Homelessness is a nationwide problem — that continues to grow. But there are organizations — that are stepping up to deal with the problem — and provide help — for the homeless.

This time last year — Latoya Heard of Selma was homeless. The single mother and her five small children had nowhere to go — nowhere to use the bathroom or sleep.

“You know not knowing really, exactly where you gon’ stay at like the next day or two. It was rough though.

The Alabama Rural Coalition for the Homeless — or ARCH program — provides assistance to the homeless in 42 of the state’s 67 counties.

“We cover essentially all of the rural counties within the state providing supportive services and housing, resources and financial assistance to persons who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless,” said Felicia Jackson.

The Dallas County Family Resource Center offers help for homeless people in the Selma-Dallas County area. James Thomas is the Executive Director.

“The homeless situation is much worse than what it even appears. One of the things about Selma is there’s a lot of abandoned buildings. And so people who are homeless tend to congregate, habitate in these abandoned buildings. And so they’ll just be living there and you’ll never know that they’re there,” said Thomas.

Another aspect of the fight against homelessness — is battling the negative attitudes people have towards the homeless.

“Here’s the thing, we’re going to have individual that present to us that certainly have some challenges, with substance use, they may have some challenges with mental health issues. Our goal is to house first. We’re able then to offer them services to help them stay housed for the long term,” said Jackson.

“I wish I had of known about, you know a program like this that I could have went through and gotten help,” said Heard.