Resource fair provides help and hope to homeless

 

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Marshall Garrett was one of many homeless people who attended the annual Homeless Issues Partnership Resource Fair at Corpus Christi’s Mother Theresa Shelter on June 14. 

As he sat inside the air-conditioned area that day, grateful for a respite from the heat, Garrett said he was looking for help to end his drug habit. He had gone to Charlie’s Place, a nonprofit, residential and outpatient drug treatment center in Corpus Christi, about three years ago, he said. But Garrett has since relapsed and wants to get back into treatment.
 

From Left, Asha Duhart, Theresa Uchimori, and Kesha Smith from Charlie's Place Recovery Center are ready with resources at the Homeless Issues Partnership Resource Fair. Dayna Worchel for South Texas Catholic

“I came out of there dancing,” he says after he left Charlie’s Place that day.
Garrett said he used to tell the staff there that he used drugs because he was a victim of society.

“But they told me that I was not a victim. I was victorious,” he says, repeating the line several times over.  

Dozens of social service organizations had set up tables at the Resource Fair that day, ready to help people like Garrett with issues like getting mentally and physically healthy, finding housing or a job, or getting an education.  
 
“It’s a way for the different entities to come together and to serve the clients where they are. The Mother Theresa shelter is an ideal place,” says Jesse Elizondo, who serves as President of The Board of Directors at The Homeless Issues Partnership, the nonprofit which organized the event. Elizondo, who also works for The Salvation Army, calls the Resource Fair a one-stop shop for the homeless to see which resources are available. The Mother Theresa Shelter, on Rankin Street, hosts the Resource Fair.  

HIP is a nonprofit organization and is a regional coalition of agencies, individuals, and businesses addressing and resolving issues relating to homelessness in the Coastal Bend through actions, resources, and education, according to their website. They are Corpus Christi’s Homeless Coalition and they meet on a monthly basis to discuss homeless issues in the area, barriers faced in providing services, and they work toward solutions to homelessness.     
  

Miriam Ridgell came to the Homeless Issues Partnership Resource Fair to find help with housing.  Dayna Worchel for South Texas Catholic

Miriam Ridgell was one of those who had come to check out the resources available on that June day. She had been renting a home close to the seawall when she was given 90 days to leave by her landlord. She seemed in good spirits despite her situation. 

“I moved here four years ago from Florida and they took my driver’s license away because I had seizures,” she says, adding that she has received rental assistance in the past.

Ridgell readily admits to a drinking problem, saying she began to drink to combat stress after her landlord gave her the 90 days to leave the home she was renting. She says getting help for the drinking is the main reason she has come to the Resource Fair.

“I have gotten help through the STSARS program and I have been volunteering there for over two years now,” she says, referring to the South Texas Substance Abuse Recovery Services, Inc.   
 

From Left, Corpus Christi Police Department Senior Police Officers Mike Garcia and Joe Lerma, with the department's Crime Reduction Unit pick up literature to give to homeless people they encounter while on patrol. Dayna Worchel for South Texas Catholic

Two Corpus Christi Police Department officers, Senior Officers Joe Lerma and Mike Garcia, made the rounds at the fair, going to each organization’s table to collect literature. The two work with the Crime Reduction Unit of the police department, which is based across the street from the shelter.

Both Lerma and Garcia knew most of the homeless attendees and greeted some of them. They plan on giving the pamphlets and cards to the people they see while patrolling on the street.

“We know many of them on a first name basis. If there’s a way to get them help, rather than arrest them, then that is what we prefer to do,” Lerma says. 
For more information about the Homeless Issues Partnership, go to their website, https://www.homelessissuespartnership.com/