Homeless shelters provide haven, fight crowding
Cold weather, rain causes influx of visitors to shelter
By: Paul Bowers - Pleading the Fifth
Posted: 1/14/08
On Saturday night in front of the City of Columbia Winter Shelter, an orderly line formed. The quietly assembled men were all waiting for check-in, a process that involves a metal detector sweep and personal search.
"It's all about the safety of the guys who are trying to better themselves," Alonzo Glover said, a shift manager who has worked in the shelter since Dec. 16. Glover, a 1994 USC graduate, remained idealistic about the purpose of the shelter, which is scheduled to remain open every night through Mar. 31.
The shelter, which is situated down a dirt road at 191 Calhoun St., consists of two nondescript metal buildings with concrete floors and wooden bunks. One houses exclusively males, while the other is partitioned to hold both men and women.
"I ain't complaining," said Bobby Moody, a 60-year-old resident with a penchant for giving advice. "We're just here to lay over."
Many of Columbia's homeless echoed his sentiment. The shelter offers warm beds, showers, telephone access and lockers free of charge to anyone who arrives between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
A winter evening for a man like Moody often begins at the Salvation Army, where volunteers provide free dinner. From there, Regional Transit Authority buses carry him to the shelter for check-in. Once inside, he finds the place where he will sleep for the night. Some, however, are not fortunate enough to sleep in a bed.
When the number of people in the shelter exceeds the number of bunks, those without beds are forced onto the floor, where they sleep on blue foam mats. On particularly cold or rainy nights when demand exceeds capacity, buses carry people to an overflow shelter in the gymnasium at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. According to Glover, this has only happened three times so far.
Overcrowding is a serious issue at the Calhoun Street location.
"It brings a lot of tension," said R.J. King, who stayed there Saturday night. Later that same night, an altercation erupted near the showers, drawing security guards in to break it up.
Other complaints tended to center around the RTA, particularly regarding an incident last week when many homeless people were literally left out in the cold. On a rainy morning, the bus stopped by the shelter several times to take people into the downtown area, then stopped coming around 7:00 a.m.
"At 7:45, seven cars of police came and told about 85 people to get out or go to jail for the day," said one man who identified himself as Tommy. "Old women on canes had to walk in the rain."
"They were left behind because they got up too late," Glover said.
Despite such complaints, most of the people who vocalized an opinion expressed gratitude.
"The city doesn't have to do this; people ought to be grateful Columbia has a winter shelter," Leonard Railey said from a top bunk. Closing his eyes, he rolled back over and pulled the sheets up to his neck.