With temperatures scheduled to stay in the ugly cold range for the rest of the week, the Salvation Army branch at 513 W. Chicago Ave., has been bracing for an onslaught of people seeking shelter.
That onslaught hasn’t come, however, and it’s making staff there nervous.
Rose Mary Salazar, Corps coordinator, said she and volunteer Adam Campos have noticed over the past few weeks that numbers have been down during the lunchtime service. Where there are usually between 75 and 100 people taking advantage of their free lunch on any given day, there were only 57 on Monday, for example.
The number may go fluctuate during more temperate days, but with far fewer places for the homeless to take shelter, Salazar is worried about their safety.
“I don’t know where they could be going,” Salazar said. “(Tuesday), the senior center is having NIPSCO come to do some work, so we may have more people coming in, but we don’t know where they are. And Heritage Hall (which is normally open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. as a warming center) was closed last night.”
Marcus Martin, founder and executive director for Grace Beyond Borders NWI Inc. and the Army’s homeless liaison, said he’s been meeting with groups of homeless people each week for the last two years. He provides them with breakfast and fellowship, and asks them how they’re surviving.
Many have been sleeping in the Police Station lobby at night. During the day, they ride buses all over town to stay in the warmth or hang out in fast-food places, getting a cup of coffee and making it last. Others meet up with friends who take them on errands and hang out in the vehicles until it’s time to get to a warming station.
Salazar said one Salvation Army client is fortunate enough to be in the hospital right now. The woman, who receives disability for bipolar disorder, went off her medication, and it was difficult to keep her in one place because she was unstable, Salazar said.
“Here is a woman who didn’t have to be homeless at all, and yet she was too sick,” she said. “Her caregiver didn’t know how to keep her safe and at home, so she would just give her the money and hoped that she would get herself a room.”
Others, Marcus said, haven’t been as forthcoming about their whereabouts.
“I was talking to one person, and at first, he avoided the subject. I kind of thought he might be staying in an abandoned building, and later, he did admit he has been,” Martin said.
Salazar said while she hates that option for them, if it’s something they must do, it’s better than the alternative.
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“I’d much rather leave them alone until we here in the city find a better solution for them to stay,” she said.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.