During his recent visit to the U.S., Pope Francis stressed that there is no way to justify a lack of housing for those in need. 

Community members and city officials in Carbondale feel similarly and are working toward a solution, as homelessness is prominent in town.

“The homeless community is largely hidden,” Carbondale Mayor Mike Henry said.

Good Samaritan House is one of the places where the homeless of Carbondale reside.

Established in 1985 by the Carbondale Interfaith Council, Good Samaritan House provides food, shelter and an emergency assistance program to those in need. 

“There’s nothing wrong with this shelter,” one resident said. “There just isn’t enough room for the people who need it.”

Residents are allowed to stay for periods of 30 days at a time, with a potential two-week extension.

The organization’s soup kitchen is open to anyone in Jackson County. It serves three meals a day to the community and served 32,000 meals last year.

“The only reason I’m staying alive is because I’m eating here,” said Gordon McKenzie, a resident who previously spent two winters living on the street.

Since the recession in 2008, the mission to assist the homeless has become increasingly difficult. More than 578,000 Americans are homeless, according to a 2014 report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

“Over the past six years, our numbers have gone up every year,” said Patty Mullen, the assistant director of Good Samaritan Ministries. She said she blames the economy on the rising homeless population in Carbondale.

However, an exact number of homeless citizens in Carbondale cannot be determined, Mullen said.

“Everyone has different definitions of homelessness,” said Marlene Shepherd, the spokesperson for Sparrow Coalition, a local non-profit organization aimed at eliminating homelessness through creative means.

For this reason, Sparrow Coalition has partnered with Dan Bryant, a pastor who has been focusing his efforts on eliminating homelessness, to discuss solutions to Carbondale’s housing problem.

Bryant has already successfully started a community initiative to build tiny residences for the homeless in Eugene, Ore.

The town of Eugene is home to the University of Oregon, which is why Bryant thought it would set up a good model for the southern Illinois area since there is a university in Carbondale. 

Katherine Graves, the pastor at First Christian Church in Carbondale, and the sister of Bryant, said Bryant’s collaboration with the City of Carbondale will provide an opportunity to learn more about approaching the issue of homelessness.

“[Bryant’s plans] provide a safe and inexpensive place in which people can live and have an opportunity to participate in a future that can be hopeful,” Graves said. “It just takes citizens who are willing to get involved and a little bit of property.” 

However, Bryant said the community must overcome the fear of homeless living within a neighborhood.

“I think it’s certainly an improvement that we’re having the conversation that we’re having because of negative comments about homeless people, like ‘Why don’t they pull themselves up by their bootstraps,'” said Maurine Pyle, president of Carbondale’s Interfaith Council and facilitator of Sparrow Coalition. 

Bryant will discuss these issues at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Carbondale Community Library, as a part of “Challenges of Poverty in Carbondale” community forum series. The discussion is open to all community members.

“As mayor, I want to encourage people to talk about it, I want to let them know that I’m behind them, that whatever plans they come in with, I’m willing to give a real hard look at it and promote it … and present these grants to the city,” said Henry, who spoke previously with Bryant.

Shepherd said there needs to be focus on helping those who will be on the streets when winter hits, as well as developing long-term initiatives to solve the housing problem.

Bryant’s proposal based on community efforts made in Eugene is a plan that provides the homeless with a home and affords them the opportunity to become a part of a community in which they can recover.

“I am very confident that it is something that any community can embrace and can be well received,” Bryant said.

Anna Spoerre can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ASpoerre_DE