“I’ve been out here living homeless almost three weeks. This is the 19th day. It’s so hot. It took me a week to learn not to camp by the pavement because of the heat coming off it.

I’m out here to raise awareness about homelessness and to love on people. I did this a couple of years ago for 90 days when the City of Mobile started talking about cleaning out the homeless camps—i wanted to understand. It’s different now. Everyone’s in an agitated state. The homeless have been uprooted. Their tents and camps were torn down, and now they’re out in the open. Where do they go? They’re on sidewalks, behind buildings, just trying to find a place. The business owners and customers are understandably frustrated. The police are trying to be gracious. They don’t want to hurt people, but they don’t know what to do either. There’s no room in the jail. There are no more shelter beds, and a lot of the rehabs are full. 

A lot of folks are sleeping on the ground. Without tents or camps, they’ve lost their community that made them safer. They’re scattered and constantly run off. Every time they sit down, someone tells them to move. I know what that feels like. I would find a place where I could close my eyes for a few minutes, then I was moved along.

I like to stay out in the open. I feel safer in the light, where there might be a camera or other people. A lot of others feel that way too. They don’t want to hide behind buildings. They want to be seen. A lot of the homeless out here would go inside if there were beds. Especially in the heat of the day. 

They get taken to jail, but the jails are full, so people end up sleeping on the floor. Locking them up doesn’t solve the problem. The mentally ill are locked up and then released in the same state of mind. The jail gets them sober and has a chance to stabilize them—but they’re letting them go right back out the same way. We’re all failing them.

There’s about a lot homeless at Tillman’s Corber–a lot more women than the last time I was out here. It’s brutal what they’re going through. They’re doing things they don’t want to do just to make it another day.

There’s also more addiction and more mental illness. The world we live in, I’m surprised we all don’t have PTSD. 

I’ve ministered to the homeless for 15 years. We opened Ryan Refuge, a free shelter for men, and have 30 there now. There needs to be more shelters for families, women, and children. They’re not just on the streets—they’re in hotels, trying to hold on one more day. We try to help with motels where we can. I hear from 20 or 30 of them a day, mostly women, calling to extend their rooms. The men panhandle for rooms too, but it’s the women who break my heart.

We need a shelter or a day center in Tillman’s Corner for these girls. There are more women than beds. Shelters are tough to open and keep open, but we have to try. I like what the homeless resource team is doing, going out and offering help. But the first step is that a bed has to be available.

I was once in addiction. I know lives can change. I just do everything I can to help someone else, and then a little more. There are others out here helping too. It’s just that the numbers are outgrowing us.

We have to work with the laws we’ve got, and sometimes people need a nudge to get help. But cutting funding for programs like Housing First makes it harder.

I’m going to keep helping. Whatever the laws are, we’ll do the best we can. God draws near to the brokenhearted, and He lets us be part of that.”

Eric

Here’s Eric’s first story on Our Southern Souls.

Ways to give:

cash app $ryansrefuge24

venmo @RyansRefuge

PayPal [email protected]

Mail a check to Ryan’s Refuge 7841 Bullitt Drive Mobile, AL 36619