While they anxiously await breaking ground on the new 12-acre Rock Rose Community Campus, the Concho Valley Community Action Agency and the Homeless Planning Coalition are gaining ground in their campaign focused on the alleviation of suffering, aiding neighbors with housing and health instability, and prevention of the issue entirely.
The agency continues their outreach and services on Navigation Day, held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church gymnasium on the last Tuesday of each month.
Described by one volunteer as a “One Stop Shop,” tables for each organization line the sides of the gym.
Attendees can pick out clothing and hygiene items, and move down the line, where resources are available for those in need of public housing, counselling, healthcare, or spiritual services.
Read More About It!
Last week, the city council approved the Rock Rose Community Campus plan, which you can read more about here.
Inside Navigation Day
On Tuesday, volunteers served freshly cooked meals for attendees, with a menu of sausage-and-egg breakfast burritos, or chicken chow-mien.
“Definitely an improvement from the pizzas we started out with,” says organizer Jason Priddy with West Texas Counseling and Guidance Center, who was running the front of house, and making final preparations before doors open.
“For it is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone …'”
The gospel according to Matthew
As Seasons Change
The Concho Observer’s last Navigation Day report was in January, when warmth and hot coffee were a main priority for volunteers.
Now, facing a possible hot Texas summer, volunteers need items focusing more on shelter and relief from heat, storms, and bugs.
“Sleeping bags and tents remain some of our most needed items,” said Priddy, “especially now going into summer; folks needing shelter from the heat.”
Priddy says closing the gap is the goal of Navigation Day.
People dependent on bicycle travel, bus routes, or even the’ ankle express, often can’t make more than one appointment for the services they need on any given day.
Especially if the proposition of a cross-town hike can become a life-threatening journey when temperatures are above 100 degrees.
On Site Services
Primary care is the focus, with healthcare workers from La Esperanza and the Texas State Health Department ready to administer basic health checks and assist in setting up appointments with other care providers.
“We’re not exactly a hot topic,” says TSHD’s Samantha, “we offer HIV and STD testing, with a nurse on standby for assistance.
“We do gift card giveaways to draw people in. The issue is stigmatized, but we see an average of 15-20 residents get tested each navigation day, sometimes as few as three or four.”
Women Infants and Children case worker Julia Cruz-McCormick discusses the program’s expansion thanks to a new RV, similar to a bookmobile.
“We serve six other counties, helping at least three to four families each navigation day,” she explained, “this new RV can deliver full services to different areas. A certified specialist who can perform the height, weight, and iron check. I personally update their information so they can get their [WIC] cards right then and there.”
She said she was there to help people who qualified get benefits they need, and — importantly — to help get people get requalified if their benefits have lapsed.
The point of gatherings like this is to help prevent the issue of homelessness and housing instability entirely. Symptomatic care is necessary, but deeper problems must be targeted and treated.
Food for the Soul
Patrick Deaver and Caleb Brookins are both veteran case managers with West Texas Counseling and Guidance Center.
“We offer many services including reduced price counselling for low-or-no income residents,” Deaver explained.
“Free counselling for veterans and their families, working with the local Veteran Service Organizations to get them the care they need through the VA.”
“We also do couples therapy, crisis management. If someone is in a crisis state, we provide them with free appointments and people are prioritized for long term care.
“You can tell a lot of folks want to be open with you, but they hold back. The hardest part is that first step.”
“A lot of people hear ‘counseling and guidance’ and they think about therapy. They might think about potentially being placed somewhere.” Brookins adds.
“Mental health is already a scary conversation, so we offer a lot more than that. Anything the individual needs from healthcare to finances. We want to treat the whole individual.”
Crossroad Ministries
Crossroad Ministries organizers Ben and Brenda Green operate out of their house.
“We started out with just one table, and as you can see, it keeps growing.” says Brenda Green, gesturing to her table packed with wares.
“We’re able to get a lot of clothing from Rust Street Ministries. They let us go through the clothing they don’t use, which would normally go out of town to another facility. We like to keep it here in town.”
Items They Need
The CVCAA has public lists of items needed, as well as an Amazon Wishlist where donors can purchase items for the cause, and have them sent directly to the organization.
Many of the items focus on the direct survival of those in need: clothing, shelter, food. Hygiene items like menstrual products and soap.
Many of the items may appear to not be “necessary for survival” such as watches, wallets, and simple flip phones that cost around $50 dollars.
But these items importantly help with bringing people back to the lives they once led. Maintaining appointments, staying on time for jobs, and protection for the precious vital records that so often are lost to life on the street.
Debt Drives Neighbors Into the Street
In a survey of homeless in Seattle, researchers from the Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing write:
“Most respondents reported having at least one kind of debt, with two-thirds reporting current medical debt. Almost half reported trouble paying medical bills for themselves or family members.”
“Almost one-third believed medical debt was in part responsible for their current housing situation. More than half with medical debt incurred this debt while they were covered under insurance.”
Sixty-three percent suffered from some chronic illness.
From those who study the issue and are on the ground volunteering, the answer is clear: A happy town is one where everyone’s healthcare and whole-life care needs are met.
Sources: Bielenberg JE, Futrell M, Stover B, Hagopian A. Presence of Any Medical Debt Associated With Two Additional Years of Homelessness in a Seattle Sample. Inquiry. 2020 Jan-Dec PMID: 32513034
— Story and photos by Will McDaniel
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