Giving help to homeless goal of area groups
On any given day there may be close to 100 homeless people in Luzerne County, according to advocates for those with no place to call their own. Of that number, 75 may be housed in shelters but the remainder refuse help, said Bill Jones from the Wilkes-Barre Volunteers of America.
To reach out to them, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Procathedral and the Luzerne County Homeless Coalition in Wilkes-Barre conducted the third annual “Homeless Persons’ Memorial” service on Sunday, the day of the winter solstice.
It was part of the National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day commemorated in 90 communities across North America, according to organizers.
The reason some homeless don’t want help is because they don’t “trust” the agencies trying to help them, Jones said. “They don’t want to be part of the system,” he said.
Charitable organizations along with county government agencies try to assist the homeless, he said.
Homelessness is not necessarily an economic issue, said Jim Davis, community volunteer. Often the homeless are mentally ill, suffer from substance addictions or are victims of abuse, he added.
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Giving_help_to_homeless_goal_of_area_groups_12-21-2008.html
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