Letter: We need to follow Charlotte’s lead on helping homeless

It’s the time of year when we are reminded of the story of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter only to be told there is no room in the inn. Tragically, this story plays out for the majority of the year right here in York County for homeless men and women.

The Men’s Warming Center at Bethel UMC operates for the four coldest months of each year. We are experiencing record high numbers of men in need of shelter. We are over our 25 bed capacity and are remaining there. These numbers are unprecedented. It is not an option for us to turn anyone away, so we have opened our gym to house the overflow on cots.

Problem solved, right? No. Absolutely not. We are asking city and county officials to make the issue of homelessness and lack of transitional/affordable housing a priority for Rock Hill and York County. Charlotte has done a tremendous job of addressing homelessness by successfully implementing the Housing First initiative. Why aren’t we doing this, or something comparable, in York County?

I recently read an article about the wonderful organization of Pilgrims’ Inn. They received the well deserved Angel Award for their use of donations in service to the community rather than for administration. This agency, and its volunteers, does a phenomenal job serving women and children. There are far fewer options available for men in this community.

The homeless men in our community are living out the very story of Mary and Joseph during the eight months the Men’s Warming Center is not operating; only there isn’t even an inn for them to be turned away from.

Are we really OK with this as a city, community, and county?

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Letter: We need to follow Charlotte’s lead on helping homeless."