'When I was hungry...'
Maureen's Haven helps homeless for a night or long term
1 comments below
Jill Desantis organizes clothing for clients of Maureen's Haven at Mattituck Presbyterian Church's thrift store last Thursday. A former nurse, Ms. Desantis became a volunteer after losing her eyesight three years ago.
But this is no night at some exclusive spa tucked away at the end of a country road on the North Fork. This is what the North Fork's homeless, estimated to be about 100 per town in Riverhead and Southold, experience at Maureen's Haven, a nonprofit outreach program run for the past six years, from Nov. 1 through March 31, by the Riverhead-based Peconic Community Council.
Every night of the week, volunteers offer their time at one of several churches on the East End. Tom Gahan and Caren Heacock volunteer at Mattituck Presbyterian, where Maureen's Haven is held every Thursday.
Patrick, a construction worker originally from East Hampton, said he's unable to find work due to the housing crisis. A former volunteer for organizations like Maureen's Haven, he found himself on the other side of the food line at Mattituck Presbyterian Church last Thursday night.
This is Mr. Gahan's first year volunteering. He said he was intrigued about the organization during a presentation given by Caren Heacock, pastoral care assistant at Mattituck Presbyterian, at a potluck dinner last June.
"I thought, 'Oh, my God, this has got to stop,'" he said. "I wasn't aware of how many homeless women are battered. I have no use for bullies. It went right to my core."
"It's great more people know about it," she said. But that means "more people are needing it."
Patrick, a former volunteer for groups like Maureen's Haven, found himself needing refuge last Thursday night. A construction worker from East Hampton, Patrick said he fell on hard times about 2 1/2 months ago "because of the economy, because of lack of work."
"I'm usually on the other end helping people," he said.
The amiable 48-year-old, wearing flip-flops and sweat pants, smoking a cigarette in the light rain outside after dinner, described how he's divorced, how his kids are grown and have moved away, and how it's "impossible for a single person to live."
He said he occupies his days helping one of his friends run a business, but he works for free.
"[My friend] can't pay me," Patrick said. "He's in dire straits, too. Everyone's tapped out."
Denis Yuen, into his third winter coordinating Maureen's Haven (something he calls "more than a full-time job"), said that the number of people seeking the program in mid-November this year is equivalent to the number of people who began showing up in late December last year.
"It's a problem that will never go away," he said. "It's even more prevalent on the East End because the cost of living is so high ... unless you live in Mom and Dad's basement."
Mr. Yuen said it's hard to define why Maureen's Haven clients become homeless. He said around 20 percent are working poor, and about 50 percent have had issues with substance abuse and mental illness.
"What defines homelessness?" he asked. "There's chronic homelessness, but some could be going room to room at friends' houses, unemployed and the check hasn't shown up. They're stuck in between."
But some clients, like John, have been coming to Maureen's on and off for years. The 48-year-old said he works at a taxi company in Riverhead as a mechanic's assistant three days a week and makes about $150 a week.
He said he used to hang out at an all-night gas station in Riverhead to stay warm during the winter, then try to sleep in his car until it got too cold, then repeat the process.
Mr. Gahan said that Mattituck Presbyterian Church can accommodate up to 35 people, but "we don't turn anyone away," he said.
But how do the homeless, without access to food and shelter, know where to go for Maureen's Haven?
According to founding member Lorry Werner, they just know.
"Street culture is a different world," she said. "They help each other out."
The bus that picks people up at designated spots in Riverhead, Hampton Bays and Greenport was donated by the county, according to Ms. Werner, but it holds only 14 people. Other clients, she said, are taxied in.
And most of them have cell phones, she said, which have to be turned off at 10 p.m. No alcohol is allowed, either, and although no one is stripped-searched, everyone takes a Breathalyzer test. And those who don't pass can't come in.
Mattituck resident Jill Desantis signs people in for the night from 4:30 to 9 p.m., after everyone's been screened for drugs and alcohol. She also helps people pick out clothing from the church's thrift store if they need it and spreads an all-around cheery attitude.
The 41-year-old former nurse began volunteering for Maureen's Haven after she lost most of her eyesight three years ago due to an optical disease.
"It's like looking through shower doors," she said of her infirmity.
But Ms. Desantis said she believes her disability is an inspiration for the lost -- or for those who have found themselves suddenly off-track -- spending the night at Maureen's Haven.
"Yes, I lost my eyesight," she said, straightening a rack of clothing. "But I'm able to give all I have ... even with nothing."
For more information or to donate, go to www.pccouncil.org/maureenshaven.html.
eschultz@timesreview.com
(Side)
Churches hosting Maureen's Haven
* Mondays -- Westhampton Presbyterian Church
* Tuesdays -- St. Agnes R.C. Church, Greenport
* Wednesdays -- First Presbyterian Church, Southold
* Thursdays -- Mattituck Presbyterian Church
* First and Third Fridays -- First Universalist Unitarian Church, Southold
* Second and Fourth Fridays -- St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Hampton Bays
* Saturdays -- First Presbyterian Church, Southampton
* First and Third Sundays -- Sacred Heart Parish in Cutchogue and Immaculate Conception Church in Westhampton Beach
* Second and Fourth Sundays -- East Quogue United Methodist Church
Source: www.pccouncil.org/maureenshaven.html
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1 comments found
HOmelessness : 11/23/2008
I have experienced the misery of homelessness at several points in my life and, although there is a certain sense of freedom to it, it is a dangerous and miserable lifestyle that is hard to rise out of. Contrary to popular belief, most homeless did not become so out of choice. Most did not become homeless because they are lazy, stupid, or immoral. Many homeless people are victims of abuse in the form of neglect and abandonment by their parents or other caregivers. Like many victims of abuse, a lot of them have chemical dependency problems. Their existence is so miserable that they use alcohol or other drugs as an escape. Some of them are simply victims of life’s tragedies, such as hurricanes, fires, or other catastrophes from which they simply don’t have the resources to recover. Also, there is a snowball effect that occurs with homelessness. After all, who is going to hire someone with no address? Most homeless people don’t have the resources to even do their laundry; who is going to hire someone in filthy clothes? Also once a person has fallen to the level of living on the streets it is very difficult for them to get a job even if they are capable of working, because the condition of homelessness creates a low sense of self-esteem which makes it difficult to relate to other people. It is difficult to find, much less keep a job once a person’s self-esteem is so badly damaged. I invite you to my website: www.FreetheGods.com. There you will find pictures I have taken of homeless people. I always give them a dollar or two for the privilege of photographing them. Usually, I am surprised by their cheerfulness and sense of pride. Often, they will show themselves to have some kind of talent. There is a fine line between genius and insanity.
