Community tries to help as homeless shelter closes

Almost every day, Linda Fralick sits on a bench at a transit station next to Crisis Assistance Ministry in Gastonia. Fralick, 73, has been homeless for years, and she has nowhere else to go.

"One night in a motel would be like a pleasure to me," she said.

Fralick said she has multiple chronic health problems, including heart issues and diabetes. She has spent time at the Salvation Army shelter, but most nights, she sleeps at the transit station.

On Wednesday, the temperature was in the 90s and climbing. For Fralick, the bit of shade at the transit station was better than nothing, but the effects of the heat were difficult to handle.

"I get exhausted. I can't breathe good. I get real sleepy," she said. "I just pray that things will get better someday."

The Salvation Army's shelter will be shuttered on Saturday, and the organization will stop serving people meals the same day.

"I think it's real sad," Fralick said. "(The Salvation Army) helped tremendously. It gave me energy to eat something."

Kim Wheeler, executive director of Crisis Assistance Ministry, said that while her organization doesn't directly deal with homelessness, she personally has felt compelled to act. She said she has noticed what appears to be an increase in visible homelessness in the community.

"I do believe we are seeing more homeless people," Wheeler said. "There are so many camps spread around. People don't know about all of them."

Wheeler and other community leaders are working to coordinate community services that serve people who are homeless, "meaning we know what's happening with at least most of the organizations," she said.

Right now, the organizations that help are scattershot, working individually to address a variety of needs. Wheeler and others want to talk to the different groups, "to try to figure out what the needs really are."

And with the heat, "it's terrible. I worry about people having enough water," she said. "It's difficult to think about."

Wheeler and others are working together to provide grab-and-go breakfast bags for people who are homeless.

"With all the development, there are fewer people who are not housed to stay. We see them being moved from place to place, and I know that there are organizations that have tried to address it. It's a difficult thing to solve. You can't even address it, much less solve it," she said. "To be able to do things to help, because they're our neighbors who need assistance. That's what led me to be a part of this."

Bernice Ryant, the CEO of Radiant Light Behavioral Health Concepts in Gastonia, also decided to take action when she heard that the Salvation Army was shutting down the shelter.

"That was when we really decided to do something," she said.

She decided to put signs outside the building at 703 East 2nd Ave. letting people know that they could come in to cool down, drink water and eat snacks.

On Wednesday, Greg Lay, who is homeless, was sitting in a room at Radiant Light. He heard about the cooling station from other people, and he has been struggling in the heat.

"It makes me sluggish. I get dizzy because of my blood pressure," he said. "The heat is terrible."

Radiant Light's cooling station is a "big help."

"I've come here on rainy days too," he said.

He said the news that Salvation Army was closing its shelter came as a surprise to him. He has stayed there in recent months.

"I can't believe they're closing that place down. So many people depend on it," he said. "Some people want to be out there. Some has no choice."

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Community tries to help as homeless shelter closes