Local resources play a big role in reducing homelessness

By Kyle Schmidt

From the outside looking in, some may be quick to judge the position of homeless individuals. But a myriad of reasons can make the situation difficult to overcome.

Whether it be struggles with mental illness, addiction or even bad strokes of luck, each person’s journey is different. Some seek out help, while others do not. Zachary Fetty has been living at the Community Mission’s Haven for 10 months now, and he talked about his path and what led him to the group’s housing.

It started two years ago, after the apartment building he stayed at with a friend burned down and he had to move back into the streets. Fetty was then attacked outside of a gas station, causing him to be hospitalized.

“The next day is when I found out I had bled all over the inside of myself,” Fetty said. “I was rushed to the hospital and it just so happened when I was here (at Community Missions) taking a shower. They called an ambulance and that’s when the girls told me whenever I was released from the hospital I had a bed.”

The injury forced Fetty out of his heavy lifting job and he had to, in his own words, “(Pull) up my bootstraps and coming up from the ground up, which is fine … I got this.”

It may be easy for someone on the outside to judge the situation of others, but the vicious cycle of addiction and mental health issues can make it difficult to escape homelessness. Fetty was able to get clean and work to recovery.

“I went through the addiction thing, but it is something I grew out of,” Fetty said. “There was no benefit to it.”

Now at the Haven, Fetty is extremely grateful for the people at Community Missions.

“These girls make themselves emotionally available to the people and they go out to places to find these people,” Fetty said. “Places like this are a godsent for people like me.”

Community Missions and other nonprofits in St. Joseph work day in and day out to help people living on the streets.

“We’ve built pretty good relationships with, a couple of organizations around town,” said Charley Lundy, care coordinator at the Haven. “So I think, having our aftercare specialists will make a big impact because that is a big thing they do.”

The aftercare specialist is someone who can check in on the recently housed and provide a wrap-around support for them. The specialist can get them in touch with resources if they hit bumps on their road to recovery.

“She provides that service to help prevent them from losing their housing,” Lundy said. “Coordinating with the landlord, they do have hiccups, they do have things come up just like any normal person living day-to-day life and that she is working with them to fix it get back on track.”

Other places in St. Joseph that have helped those battling with addiction are Family Guidance and the Samaritan Center.

Lundy said after six to 12 months, those who have struggled with homelessness begin to get comfortable trying to live with a roof over their head.