Lack of Resources a Challenge for Homelessness in Anderson

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

I was walking downtown this morning after breakfast at Mr. River’s Breakfast Joint. Quiet streets and sidewalks, at least partially due to public schools on Spring Break, made for a peaceful walk.

While there are still far too many empty storefronts, we have a nice downtown, and the streetscapes with trees and wide sidewalks are inviting. I was telling a friend about it, and we both noted the lack of one of the biggest complaints by some concerning downtown – the presence of homeless individuals.

It was a damp and cool morning, and if this were 2019 or before, there would have been homeless men and women sleeping under awnings and in doorways downtown. If you were around Anderson then, you remember it well. This morning, there were zero homeless individuals downtown, much less anyone sleeping in doorways, and I was there for well over an hour.

The difference? In 2020, Hope Missions of the Upstate opened, and in the years since has served breakfast to the homeless, some of whom spend the night in one of the few shelter beds at the Salvation Army of Anderson, who are hungry and need a hot meal.

Hope has become a central resource for those who have no place to live, providing services such as obtaining identification and Social Security cards, finding work, finding permanent housing (they helped place more than 200 a permanent place to live last year). The fastest growing segment of these are more than 65 years old and have been priced out of their rental homes. They are also the overnight warming shelter when the temperature drops in cold months and a cooling shelter when the heat and humidity swelter in the summer.

This is a skeletal description that does not do their work justice, but it is important to note that in cooperation with Anderson County, they have made a substantial difference in the community. Last night County Council entered into another agreement with Hope Missions to work with code enforcement officers to identify the needs and challenges of the homeless in Anderson County.

Last fall, Hope began a conversation with others who work with those who do not have a permanent residence. The goal was to clarify the facts on homelessness in Anderson and to identify what steps can be taken to help turn the tide, including looking at what other communities are doing.

The focus, at least of the last public meeting was any indication, seems to have drifted a bit as others joined the effort, and some of the original intent was lost.

Here’s what the group, which was eventually morphed into something with “task force” in the name, cannot seem to digest, information which was clear last fall.

First, the homeless population is not a source of criminal activity. Less than six percent of those in the Anderson City Jail accused of crimes are homeless, and fewer than three percent in the Anderson County Detention Center charged with crimes are homeless.

Second, homeless people are not being bused into Anderson from large cities or anywhere else. A random survey of local charitable organizations found well over 90 percent of those they serve were from Anderson County, and many who moved here with the promise of a job due to our widely reported booming economy.

Third, Anderson has the fewest shelter beds, known as emergency shelter beds, of any city our size. The Salvation Army of Anderson, another great organization working on a razor-thin budget, has 22 shelter beds for men, 10 for women, and two for families with children.

There are additional cold-weather shelters with 62 beds combined: Hope Missions, which has 37 cots for men and 12 for women, the Haven of Rest has five beds for men, and Hillcrest Baptist Church in Williamston has eight shelter beds.

Anderson County currently has five transitional housing sites (outside of drug treatment concerns).

When comparing percentages of homeless individuals unsheltered, Anderson has 13 times as many as Greenwood, which has 70 shelter beds and 54 transitional housing sites, and almost three times as many as Spartanburg, which has 147 shelter beds, and 25 transitional housing sites.

The lack of resources and shelter beds can create a difficult-to-manage situation.

In the meantime, groups such as Hope Missions and the Salvation Army need support more than ever to do what they can in the meantime. The community support from volunteers is heartening.  Last year, 80 churches and 800 volunteers stepped up to serve at Hope Missions.

But the long-term answer is more shelter beds and transitional housing. The latter could be taking shape in the future, as the county has given property to Hope Missions to provide a series of transitional housing homes at the old Riverside Mill site. But the wheels of bureaucracy and fundraising make it unlikely to see these under construction in the immediate future.

The same is true for the vision of a village of small, single-room shelters around a congregate central building which could help provide shelter and services.
In the meantime, it will take action by the city, county, and charitable foundations to help provide a roadmap to serve all citizens with compassion and respect, especially those who have no personal connections to such power bases.