I pray — and do whatever I can — to help the homeless, who are all around us | Opinion
There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t encounter a homeless person on the streets of Miami. Some hold signs, letting the passersby know that they are homeless and hungry. Sometimes the sign-holders are men. More often these days, the homeless sign-bearers are young women, some even pregnant. One day recently I saw an elderly woman carrying a sign that said her grandchildren needed food. Then there are the veterans who served their country, some of them have lost an arm or leg or both.
It is painful to see them, sometimes in wheelchairs, rolling alongside cars stopped at a traffic light, begging for a handout.
Over the years, I have made it a habit to carry a few dollars in the console of my car just for the homeless. I do this because I am a mother and I do it because I care. It could be my child on the streets, begging for a few coins to buy a sandwich and a cup of coffee. And while I know that not all the beggars are homeless — there’ve been stories about some who have made a living out of panhandling — I still give in the name of the Lord and I let Him be the judge of the person who’s begging.
When I was a child growing up in Miami’s Central Negro District or the CND, as the area was called back then (now known as Overtown), we children never saw any homeless people. We lived near the downtown railroad station, and the closest thing to homeless people were the hobos who hitched rides in the train’s box cars from time to time, riding free from city to city. Some of us children even envied their seemingly carefree lifestyle.
But there is nothing carefree about today’s homeless people. The most painful to me is to see entire families, some with small children, who are homeless. Then, there are those who are mentally ill, who wander the streets, carrying their worldly possessions in plastic bags, or pushing a rusty grocery cart and looking at the world through eyes that seem hollow and empty. That’s when I think to myself, “That could be me, or someone I know.” Because many people are just a paycheck away from living on the streets.
Since COVID-19 hit, another category of homeless people joined the ranks: the elderly. As an elderly woman myself with arthritic knees and a bad back, I can’t imagine how hard it must be to be old and homeless, with no simple, human comforts, like having shelter and being able to sleep on a comfortable bed. I am told that one 1 of every 4 seniors is homeless. According to the Homeless Trust’s bi-annual census taken in August, there were 183 homeless elderly persons. At the time the census was done, 425 residents, mostly male, lived in shelters.
A bright spot is Mia Casa, a former assisted living facility turned shelter for the homeless elderly when COVID-19 hit. Since it opened, the shelter has served more than 300 seniors, all fully vaccinated. And 90 percent of the residents are men.
I recently learned that there are from 3,000 to 4,000 homeless people in Miami Dade. Many sleep on bus benches during the day and walk the streets at night to keep an eye on their belongings. Others camp under expressway overpasses and in public parks in tents and other makeshift housings. But now, an ordinance passed by the city of Miami Commission, homelessness has been outlawed. Encampment in public places in temporary housing such as tents, have been deemed against the law. First-time violators will be given a written warning and instructed to go to a shelter. Second-time violators will be arrested.
I am not sure how arresting the homeless for being homeless will help the situation. So, you arrest a homeless person, who can’t find room at a shelter. After a while, they are back on the street. And still homeless. What do we do then? Well, we arrest them again. And again. And again. Without realizing it (or maybe we do), we’ve made it a crime to be homeless.
So, what do we do? Shelters like the Rescue Mission and Camillus House don’t have the space for long-term stays. And even if they did, I am aware that some homeless people don’t want to stay in legitimate shelters because of the rules, which often include curfews and no drugs or drinking. While the facilities have program to help the homeless get back on their feet, there just aren’t enough beds available for all the homeless who need shelter.
The lack of space for the homeless makes me concerned for them every time it rains or is miserably hot or bone-chilling cold. And like many of you, I pray daily for the homeless and hurting.
I wish I had the answer to this problem. I don’t. But I can care — and I do — and I can give whatever I can to help make some homeless person’s day a little bit more bearable.
Virtual ‘Book and Author Brunch’ at The Links
The Greater Miami Chapter of The Links will celebrate 66 years of “Friendship and Service and Linkages and Legacies, Volume III” at its virtual book and author brunch at 11 a.m. on Nov. 14. This will be the chapter’s 15th biennial book and author brunch, which celebrates accomplished and talented authors. In the psat, they’ve included Ambassador Andrew Young, Judy Smith, Terry McMillan, Natalie Baszile, E. Lynn Harris, Bebe Moore Campbell and Edwidge Danticat.
Alex Finnie, reporter/anchor for WPLG Channel 10, will be the mistress of ceremony. The program will feature performances by gospel recording artist Bryan Courtney Wilson and Grammy recording artist Anthony Hamilton.
Proceeds from donations and sponsorship for the event will be used by the chapter to fund programming initiatives that includes health programming focused on breast-cancer awareness, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, healthy heart initiatives, obesity prevention and humanitarian medical missions. It also benefits youth and arts programming focused on STEM, collaboration of youth and police via art, and its annual educational scholarships.
Attendance is complimentary. Register at https://greatermiamilinksinc.org.
Veterans Day Salute at Historic Lyric theater
The community is invited to a Veterans Day Salute and Tribute at noon on Nov. 11 at the Historic Lyric Theater, 819 NW Second Ave. in Overtown. The event is being presented by Alvin W. Roberts, vice president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Inc., Chapter 1125.
Roberts, a 1964 graduate of Miami Northwestern Senior High School, is a United States Marine Corps combat Vietnam veteran and well-known community activist. He is also an advocate for U.S. Veterans and is a retired federal employee at the Miami VA Medical Center for over 35 years.
The event is free, and face masks are required. For more information, call Roberts at 786-385-2634.
Bea L Hines can be reached at bea.hines@gmail.com