Tent donations help homeless find shelter
It’s usually during the winter months that Lorie Spain fills out the most housing referrals for homeless shelters. As the director of compassion ministries at the Hope Center in Marysville, she often fills out as many as 20 a week.
Typically, Spain writes fewer referrals over the summer. This year though, the need has not let up.
“There just seems to be more homeless people coming in the door with nowhere to stay,” Spain said. “They’re doubled up, they’re living in their cars. I know some people who are just shopping a Walmart all night with nowhere to go.”
Because there is no shelter in Union County, the Hope Center relies on neighboring counties to take in its homeless. But an increase in demand this summer has filled every shelter.
With a constant need and no other options, Spain turned to her last resort: handing out tents.
The tents, usually one- to three-person tents, are able to provide temporary housing, especially for people who are unable to leave the county if room in a shelter opens up.
“They could’ve just been released from drug treatment and don’t have stable housing, or there might be restrictions with the court systems,” Spain said.
The Hope Center had 12 tents left over from a tent drive last summer. Spain said that once volunteers started handing them out at the beginning of July, they were gone within a week. Weekly requests on the Hope Center’s Facebook page have kept tent donations steady, but they don’t last long. At the moment, there are just seven on hand.
“They come and they go,” Spain said.
Spain said she’s unsure as to why this summer has seen more demand for tents than in the past, but she suspects Union County’s housing crisis has something to do with it.
“We have individuals working at temp agencies, but the rent is really high,” she said. “It’s $600 a month and a $1,400 deposit — and that’s just an apartment.”
Finding a place to pitch the tents is tricky, Spain said. It’s illegal to camp on public property, and people are not allowed to stay on the Hope Center’s property.
A handful of local churches and campsites that have partnerships with the Hope Center allow individuals to pitch tents on their property. The majority of people set up camp on private property, usually a friend or family member’s land.
To get through the summer, Spain said she would be satisfied with just 10 more tents, She has been grateful for the community’s willingness to give.
“We couldn’t do this without that partnership with the community,” she said. “The generosity of people is just incredible.”
The employees at Advanced Spinal Health and Wellness in Marysville know when to respond to the call for help. The chiropractor’s office, located less than a mile from the Hope Center, donated four tents and four sleeping bags last week after seeing one of the charity’s Facebook posts.
“It’s neat to be able to help out a little place that’s doing great stuff in our community,” said Angela Phillips, a chiropractic assistant at Advanced Spinal.
Despite the uncertainties, both for donations and her clients’ housing situations, Spain said she likes to look to the future instead of worry about the present.
“The present is sometimes not very hopeful,” she said, “but there’s always something you can look forward to. Permanent housing, that you can look forward to.”