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The church arranged meetings to learn what resources were available and how Central United Methodist Church could help. Leonard Chari from the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN, recently renamed PathForward), explained that there were resources in Arlington County, a seasonal shelter that was open November through March and a facility with laundry and showers; however they were scattered throughout the county making it difficult for people to access.
There were agencies to help find housing; however, again, the problem was access. What was needed was a location where the homeless tended to be already, where resources could come to them. If Central could provide the location and the draw, Leonard would provide the services.
The next step was to gain the support of the preschool that shared our space. We agreed that the program would begin on a three-month trial. Around 2009, a small group of church members assisted by Leonard from A-SPAN began offering donuts, coffee, juice and sack lunches on Friday morning. It was considered a good day when 20 sack lunches were distributed.
The volunteers got to know the people they were serving. They had seen many of them in the area and came to realize that the homeless were hiding in plain sight. Some of them wear suits and have cell phones and jobs but they sleep in their car because they can’t afford a place to live.
We listened to their stories. We helped where we could. We had a funeral or two for those that died on the street. We called 911 when we found them barely alive, sleeping on the steps waiting for us to open. Often we had young women that were coming not only for the food but because it was a safe place for them to sleep.
A-SPAN’s seasonal shelter was helpful, but it was not enough. Cold nights are not limited to November through March. We supported A-SPAN in their efforts to open a year round shelter with services centrally located.
U.S. Rep. Jim Moran was instrumental in assisting in obtaining housing vouchers for the veterans that were on the street. He visited on Friday mornings to demonstrate support and get a sense of the issues and needs for veterans.
To improve nutrition, the donuts and coffee evolved into hot breakfast casseroles and hot lunch. Food donations came from AFAC, area businesses like Heidelberg Bakery, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s and Panera, church members and neighbors.
Offering a hot meal necessitated Thursday evening prep time. This was staffed primarily by young adults in the area who wanted to be involved in helping others. The number of individuals served on Fridays grew to more than 200. We learned that not everyone coming for breakfast was Arlington homeless, so A-SPAN began signing people in, simply asking where they slept the night before, this helped screen for the people we aimed to serve and gave A-SPAN a census.
As the Friday morning breakfast grew, our 100-year-old church building showed its age. The list of expensive repairs, systems patched together and areas out of code grew quicker than the membership could respond.
How much longer could we go on like this and how could we close the increasing gap in code requirements?
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