“Homelessness means no structure, no safety, no security. What you say to people doesn’t carry any weight. But not every homeless person is the same. I don’t drink or do drugs but people assume I do. I couldn’t imagine being a kid and homeless.”

“Homelessness means you don’t have a home, nowhere to lay your head at night, no roof over your head.”

“Homelessness means being forgotten. I’ve been homeless for 25 years. I am a Vietnam vet and there are a lot of vets that are homeless.”

“You feel imprisoned, separate from everyone else’s experiences and things going on in the world. It’s not easy; I go 24 hours without getting a meal. The only meal I get is what they serve here.”

“Homeless is the absence of being. For most people there is security—you work, you go home—you have a place to be. People identify themselves or others identify them by where and what they do for work. You don’t have those options when you are homeless.”

“The word that comes to me is cold.”

“I don’t feel homeless because I have a roof over my head. I think of people living under bridges. We are all one paycheck from my situation. First time I was homeless we were in the back of my pickup and didn’t eat for two days.”

“Homelessness is shame, it’s pathetic, it’s pain. The reason I say that is I’ve put myself in positions drinking too much and then don’t have a place. I’ve slept outside and I’ve got good sleep but the second I woke up and walked away—tears were coming down my face.”

“To me it means wearing what you need each day on your back.”

“To me it means not having privacy for myself. Even though I have a roof over my head, it doesn’t mean privacy. I don’t tell my job interviews I am homeless. Homeless means no privacy, no security, no freedom.”

“It’s a very lonely time. I have family and it is lonely because I don’t want to put my burdens on them.”

“Every day you have to find some way to spend your time or somewhere to hide.”

“I was hanging out by somewhere, was hungry, and this man came up to me and told me to hold. Then he went back in the store and came out and handed me seven dollars and I had tears in my eyes.”

These are some of the reasons we do what we do at the Shelter. It’s about helping people. It’s about a hand up. It’s about hope. It’s about human dignity and doing what is right. It’s far too easy to look past someone that needs help. It’s harder to look down deep inside yourself and figure out what you can do. Our "Want to Help" section of this website has lots of ways you can help either financially or as a volunteer. Please join us in helping!