Bill O’Boyle WILKES-BARRE — This week’s removal of the homeless camp sites in Kirby Park was sad to see, but it had to be done.
Mayor George Brown has done so much to help the homeless and it is time that the homeless start helping themselves.
There are many services and shelters available to assist and guide homeless individuals to a better place. It’s time they made the effort.
I have always been an advocate for homeless people. I have done many stories and columns pleading for our community leaders to take note and do what they can to help those in need.
And they have answered that call.
Still, it was heart-wrenching to see the camps removed — to see the people standing and watching and feeling lost.
Mayor Brown’s administration notified all the appropriate local agencies of the city’s plan in the event they would like to be of assistance during this process.
“The current situation needs to be remedied,” Mayor Brown said. “It presents significant health and welfare issues for area residents who use the park and city first responders who receive frequent calls to that area. Once this process is completed, the area will be posted, and any violations of current city regulations will be immediately and strictly enforced.”
The city has posted the area to notify those in the encampment area that they need to vacate the area.
The notice reads:
“If you are currently homeless and need shelter or housing assistance, there are services that you can contact to discuss your options.
Emergency sheltering is available from:
• Mother Teresa’s Haven, a program of Catholic Social Services is a daily shelter for men with contact by phone at 570-825-9948 or you can go the St. Vincent De Paul Kitchen, 39 E. Jackson St., Wilkes-Barre, where information would be available.
• Ruth’s Place, a program of Volunteers of America is a permanent shelter for single women located at 425 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Wilkes-Barre, with contact by phone at 570-822-6817.
• Keystone Mission, overnight shelter for men and women from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. first come, first served. 90 East Union St., Wilkes-Barre with contact by phone at 570-871-4795 x 0600.
• Housing Assistance and service options are available from the Commission on Economic Opportunity, contact by phone at 1-800-822-0359 asking to speak with a homeless case manager.
• In addition, HELPLINE, the 24-hour information and referral service at 570-829-1341 or 1-800-829-1341 can be contacted for information about shelter and services.
Those affected need to visit those offices and find out how they can be helped.
When these situations arise, I always recall my dear, late friend, Jim Sobieski, who came back from being homeless to dedicate his life to helping. I remember Jim telling me about his volunteer work at the St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen.
Jim told me he scrubbed the pots and pans at the kitchen and he helped with serving and cleaning up — but scrubbing those pots and pans was at the top of his agenda every day.
What Jim Sobieski couldn’t give from his pocketbook, he gave from his heart.
Jim was virtually anonymous in the community, yet he had an incredible and immeasurable positive impact on many.
As you walk along Public Square, South Main Street or near the Susquehanna River, you can see the homeless. You can see them at the kitchen where Jim volunteered and you can see them at Keystone Mission.
They are there and their numbers continue to grow. Blame who you want, but don’t let politics cloud your vision of reality. These people need help and they need to understand that getting that help is the way to go — not living in a makeshift tent by the river or in an abandoned building or somewhere in the woods.
Yes, many homeless drink too much. Many do drugs. Many have absolutely no motivation to better themselves.
They really do need help. They need a community to care enough to do all it can to help them — to show it sincerely cares.
The homeless who have passed have certainly been forgotten by most of the greater Wyoming Valley community. The sad reality is they were forgotten long before they passed away. And that is our biggest failure of all.
Let’s face it, federal and state dollars have been declining for years, leaving all the nonprofits competing for dwindling donor dollars.
And this is just to keep pace with the growing needs — expanding services or programs just isn’t possible, despite how beneficial that would be.
Webster defines compassion as “the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.”
Which brings us back to those homeless people trying to keep warm under a bridge in sub-zero temperatures or facing the prospect of no food to eat. Or all those served by all those nonprofits — each with noble missions and staffed with the most compassionate humans out there — with never enough funding to help all that need help.
Without debate, this just shouldn’t be.
No matter what the reasons are for these human beings to be without shelter, or food, or warm clothing, or direction is not important — not at all. What is important is that these people need a place to go to be warm enough to survive or to purchase food and clothing, or find a job.
And the reason we need to address this societal problem is simple — it’s the right thing to do.
“Offering a hand up is not a hand-out,” said Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross.
Mayor Brown has shown the leadership to seriously address the homeless issue.
We all need to follow his lead.
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