Alexandria homeless center in dire need of funds to help with building costs

The Virginia Soprano Homeless Resource Center on Jackson Street in Alexandria is in dire need of financial funding to help cover expenses associated with building maintenance.

Recently a GoFundMe was set up by Cenla Homeless Coalition Board member Celise Reech-Harper with a goal of raising $65,000. So far they have raised over $2,000 which is still a lot less than what is needed to maintain the center.

Other board members like Linda Carpenter are selling jewelry at Pineville Treasure Chest Too and Wildwood Pizza is also helping out through their Tuesday program “Pizza with a Purpose.” They are working with their bank to set up a QR code for people to scan so donations will go directly to the CLHC bank account.

Donors can also mail checks to the center at 1515 Jackson Street, Alexandria, La., 71301, making payables to the Central Louisiana Homeless Coalition or CLHC

CLHC has an account with the Central Louisiana Community Foundation and there is a QR code for it on the CLHC Facebook page but it is more like longterm savings, she said.

"It's wonderful because it's free to us and we actually can earn dividends on the money that's in it, but we can't access any of it. So if you want to get money out of that account, it takes like two weeks to get it out. So, it's not a quick thing. But what we need is that influx of cash in our bank account,” said Wynn.

The center already has partnerships in place with churches and other community organizations to get food, clothing and hygiene items during the week, said CLHC executive director Kitty Wynn.

“Those kinds of things are easy to get from the community. The problem is, is getting people to do cash donations or to support us financially,” said Wynn.

But more is needed to help with day-to-day expenses of operating the center, said Wynn. They have come to a point where they can’t overcome the shortage that they have even though they have grant money from HUD and the Louisiana Housing Corporation, but they have very specific parameters for how the money can be used.

“Now they do cover some expenses like partial salaries, overhead, utilities, things like that, but still not enough to meet what we need to cover all that. Especially with the center,” she said.

The center is the only one of its kind in Central Louisiana where the homeless can go for free to do laundry, take a shower, access Wi-Fi or get a phone, said Wynn. The center provides laundry detergent, towels, washcloths and other basic supplies. Demand for their services is going up so they have to spend more money to meet those needs.

“We serve 25 to 50 people a day. So,you think about the two showers and two laundries going from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. non-stop. We have the capacity to have 32 showers a day, and some days we meet that. It's constant wear and tear, maintenance on stuff like that,” she said.

Alexandria utilities are expensive, but they try to cut costs as much as possible by being mindful of the heating and air conditioning temperatures and other things they are using, she said.

Another cost they have is insurance.

"Insurance is super, super expensive and we have to have all those kinds of coverages. For the most part when our funding is working as it should, we have a lot of that's covered, but we still have a gap in that funding even after the grant money,” she said.

“And if we don't fill this gap and we're probably going to end up looking at closing at some point,” she said. “Hopefully, that won't ever come into play, but we are in a position right now that we could shut the doors.”

Getting emotional, Wynn said that it’s hard for people to understand that many of the homeless they see around the city are products of their environment.

“And now have been victimized by that environment. It's hard for people to understand that a lot of them don’t even realize that this is a different way of life for them. This is all they know,” she said.

For most who see panhandlers around the city, it’s hard to dehumanize them, said Wynn. Handing money over to them to feed themselves is one thing ,but for the most part she said most have substance abuse or mental health disorders.

“It's pretty much, more often than not, going to go to something toward drug use or alcohol than something that's actually a basic need,” she said. “And that's where we kind of come in, to provide those basic needs.”

Then there are those who end up here by happenstance. Wynn said they held a fundraiser to help sent a man back to Montana. He had been living on the streets around here for years.

“He's living with his family and working in Montana and doing well,” she said. “One of his biggest problems was substance use and getting him away from that crowd, that environment of drug use. And he's calling us now and telling us how good he's doing and how cold it is in Montana. There are so many successes that nobody sees.”

Others include helping people get IDs, housing and jobs. They recently helped one person get a bicycle so they could get to work.

Without the center, those who utilize it now would probably seek aid from churches, other organizations or the City of Alexandria.

“The city used to partner with us. They used to support the agency, but they don’t anymore,” she said. “So they would probably be hanging around the city a lot more, more crime, trying to raise money to have the means to take care of basic needs.”

It’s hard for someone with mental health issues to have people on their side, she said.

“They don't understand drug use. They think, ‘Why did they start? Why did that happen?’ And it can happen to anybody,” said Wynn. “It could happen from an injury. It could happen from some traumatic event in their life. There's just so much stuff. We all have situational things that pop up. Some of us don't have the resources to handle them like other people do.”

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Alexandria homeless center in dire need of funds to help with building costs