Open Door and Next Door Shelters

I moved to Kalamazoo from Denver, Colorado, about 4 and a half years ago. This past August I returned to Denver for a visit and I was astonished at the increased number of homeless people roaming the streets, panhandling, and begging for food. There seemed to be many more homeless adults and children than when I lived there. (Or have I just forgotten, because I’ve been in Kalamazoo for so long?)

My heart went out to these people, some of whom I remembered from the days when I lived in the “Capital Hill” section of Denver. I secretly cried out to God to assist all who came across my path. The lump in my throat felt as if it weighed 500 pounds.

There were young women sitting in parks holding signs that read: “Will Work For Food” or “Willing To Work For A Place To Sleep.” The most humorous — but honest — sign I saw was: “I’m Not Going To Lie...I Need A Drink.”

I spoke with a woman who had one arm. Her face was covered with scabs and she smelled like 5-day-old whiskey. She was about ready to give up hope because she hadn’t slept in a bed of her own in 5 or 6 years. She wasn’t accepted at the local shelters because she was an active alcoholic. She couldn’t afford treatment. She wanted to know if she could come back to Kalamazoo with me, because I had told her about the Next Door. It was very hard to tell her I could not honor her request.

There is a large shelter in Denver that operates on a lottery system. Anyone who needs a bed for the night must show up at the shelter at 2:30 p.m. to receive a lottery number. At 3 p.m. the lottery numbers are called out, and if your number is called, you have a bed for the night. If your number is not called, you have to seek shelter elsewhere. (Special provision is given to women with children. They are sometimes placed in a run-down motel. It’s not great, but then again, it’s a roof over their heads.)

I feel immensely blessed to live in a city the size of Kalamazoo with an abundance of resources for homeless people. When we are full at the Next Door and have to turn young women away, there is a 90% chance that we are able to refer them to another shelter or house. (We were forced to turn away over 150 women needing shelter during the months of August & September because we were full.) According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as many as 600,000 men, women, and children are homeless in the United States every night. The figure worldwide is magnitudes higher.

This past year, while attending the national conference for Health Care for the Homeless in Washington, DC, I had the opportunity to visit a shelter not far from the White House that takes in some 780 homeless individuals on any given night. I wonder how many of these individuals get the attention they truly need. I’m proud and also humbled to share that at the Open Door and Next Door, where we serve only 12 guests at a time, we are able to treat each guest as if they were family. They receive our personal attention, along with our compassion and many prayers.

So many people in our community offer resources for our guests. So many of you contribute personally, prayerfully, financially, and supportively to the well-being of our guests and the support of our ministry, that our gratitude list is a mile long .We thank you for your faith in God and for your commitment to our work.

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. - James2:14-18

My friends, the days are getting shorter and the nights colder. I suspect that our shelters will continue to be filled to capacity. Even the guests and other homeless individuals who have jobs and are productive members of society, often cannot afford an apartment. Those who earn minimum wage or two or three dollars an hour more than minimum wage might need a bed in a shelter this coming winter. You see, a single worker earning minimum wage would have to work 87 hours a week just to afford a 2-bedroom apartment (based on the federal standard for affordable housing at 30% of income). The rest would be barely sufficient for other necessities such as food and clothing.

It’s mind boggling to learn that up to 40% of the homeless are employed and working. I remember my Dad telling me that hard work pays off in big ways. That was years ago; this is today. In the words of a famous comedian: “We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.” When more people have affordable housing and there are more available beds for the homeless in our community, then I will be able to enjoy the beauty and smell of the flowers at Bronson Park. Unfortunately, my eyes are fixed now on the woman or man sleeping on the park bench. God raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people. (Psalm 113:7-8)

We have many current and former guests who call the Open Door and Next Door “home.” It does my heart and soul good whenever I hear them use the word “home” for the Next Door because even if they only live here temporarily, the word “home” signifies being welcomed and at ease. (Even though there are rules & guidelines—smile.)

This lets us know that with God’s guidance we are doing our job. It has been said that every human being has a primary and fundamental right to adequate food and shelter. Yet so many people in our world are deprived of this basic right: the right to sleep in a warm bed at night in a place called home.

Sweet Dreams....and thank you for your continued support.

Veronique Moore

THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO MAKE THIS MINISTRY POSSIBLE

Received through September: $147,401

Still needed in 2003: $59,549

Gifts to Open Door and Next Door Shelters are tax deductible and qualify for a generous Michigan income tax credit.