Good-hearted Lebanon County residents seek to help homeless families: Here's what you can do

On a recent windy day, Hummelstown residents Mark Westaway and his wife were parked behind the former Maribelle's Diner on Cumberland Street with bags of linens.

"We're attempting to locate the homeless families here," he said to the Lebanon Daily News. "My wife's family saw posts about them all throughout Facebook...and no children should be out in the cold like this."

Two families had been living in tents behind the former restaurant with consent from the owners, who were renovating the property. One younger couple and one older couple with an adult son were living at the site.

Also of interest: Kortne Stouffer: How — and why — did she vanish from her apartment in 2012?

Take care: Pennsylvania ranked the 5th most dangerous state for winter driving

Susan Blouch, the Lebanon Rescue Mission executive director, said that her group partnered with various organizations, including Lebanon County Crisis Intervention, WellSpan Good Samaritan and Mayor Sherry Capello's office, to reach out to the families and provide assistance.

The families were then relocated by officials around Nov. 5. But Blouch said the Rescue Mission and Crisis Intervention were communicating with them even before then.

"We were able to relocate those families safe in local hotels," she said. "We're working with Crisis (Intervention) to provide the financial resources for both families to be safe and warm in hotels."

But then on the weekend of Nov. 13, residents began commenting on social media about a larger group, including children, at the camp site. Over that weekend, residents like the Westaway's began dropping off items like linens and perishable food to the site.

Many "good-hearted, well-meaning residents dropped off all kinds of things," according to Blouch, but the families that could use them were no longer there. Residents, including the mayor, got on social media requesting people not continue leaving items behind the former restaurant.

"It really created quite a collection of things that weren't going to be used, and some of it got rained on over the weekend," she said.

Homelessness can be complex problem

On any given day, over 15,000 Pennsylvanians are known to be homeless, according to state Department of Community and Economic Development officials. Over the next four years, fallout from the pandemic is expected to cause chronic homelessness to climb by 49% nationwide, according to studies reported on by USA Today in January.

There is a web of reasons why someone could become homeless, Blouch said.

"For everyone, it's something different," she said. "It can start with addiction. The addiction gets away from you, you stop paying your bills, you get evicted, you loose your home (and) now you're both homeless and really mired down in addiction."

Other causes of homelessness could include lack of affordable housing, unemployment, poverty, lack of needed services and mental illness. The solution becomes just as complex as how you become homeless in the first place, Blouch said.

"You become homeless, you lose your belongings, all your papers, all your documentation, sometimes all your identification," she said. " You can't do anything without identification, and so now just trying to find the right place to get help to get a new ID can be a struggle."

Blouch said that none of the organizations that fight homelessness are blind to people living on the street. But they can only help those ready to accept it.

"It's a long road to go from a tent, to employment, to housing," she said. "It takes time, and it takes resources. It takes case management and multiple organizations coming together to work with these individuals to get them first safe and then flourishing."

For 77 years, the community has been very generous to the Lebanon Rescue Mission, which gets no local, state or federal funding.

"We are funded 100% by this community, and the generosity of this community is humbling," Blouch said.

Instead of just dropping off supplies, Blouch recommended that people provide financial resources to shelter ministries. These include the Rescue Mission, The Salvation Army, Lebanon County Christian Ministries and others.

"Providing the financial resources is huge for all of us, because then it allows me to have the option that if somebody finally accepts our help that I have the resources to put someone in a hotel for sometimes four to six weeks," she said.

The younger couple from the former Maribelle's Diner encampment has already secured new jobs, new identification and received bicycles for a mode of transportation. They are working with the Community Action Partnership to learn skills like how to budget their finances and secure stable long-term housing.

The older couple has a more complex situation, according to Blouch. They qualify for social security and senior housing, but first they are working to navigate the process involved in applying and receiving those services.

"They've got their IDs, (and) they haven't had IDs for a long time," she said. "They are getting medical treatment where they need it, and the older gentleman has part-time work."

Blouch added that no one in any of the Lebanon social service programs or ministries ignores people they see living out on the street or in a tent. But the answers to ending homelessness is extremely complex, and it takes time to build relationships and trust with folks who may not trusted anyone in a long time.

"The ultimate goal of course is to get them good, safe long-term housing options, and we're getting there," she said. "But that doesn't happen overnight."

To help

If you'd like to help, or need assistance:

Residents looking to donate or for volunteer opportunities at the Lebanon Rescue Mission can visit their website or contact them at 717-273-2301.

Anyone wishing to donate or in need of services from the Lebanon County Christian Ministries can visit their website or call at 717-272-4400.

People with suicidal thoughts - or other crises such as those involving domestic violence, sexual abuse or drug and alcohol problems - are encouraged to call the Lebanon County Crisis Intervention hotline 24/7 at 717-274-3363.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon County homeless families bring help from residents