Strength in Community: The American Red Cross Responds to Homelessness in the 21st Century

Charlene Hardy looks forward to the day when she will finally know what it feels like to put a key in the door to her very own apartment. She is a resident of the Family Respite Center, a facility that houses 91 homeless mothers and their children in midtown Manhattan and is operated by the American Red Cross in Greater New York. The center has provided shelter to Ms. Hardy and her two-year-old daughter Diamond for nearly six months, but she looks forward to having her own place very soon: "I want to give my daughter a home."

Ms. Hardy and daughter Diamond in their room at the Family Respite Center.

Ms. Hardy had heard plenty of horror stories about the shelter system in New York City before arriving on the steps of the Family Respite Center in June 2000. She credits the American Red Cross with turning her life around. In addition to providing families with safe and secure shelter, the Family Respite Center offers a wide array of supportive services, including case management, advocacy with government agencies, day care, Early Head Start, recreational events for families, workshops on topics such as housing and employment, and relocation support services to help families transition into permanent housing.

Ms. Hardy is one of more than 11,000 homeless individuals who have been helped by the American Red Cross in Greater New York since the inception of its Homeless Services department in 1985. At that time, barracks-style shelters and welfare hotels were the only havens for homeless families in New York. Responding to an urgent plea from the City, the chapter opened the first two temporary housing facilities specifically designed to address the needs of homeless families, creating a shelter model that has now been replicated by nearly 40 other non-profit organizations in New York City. Both shelter facilities, the Family Respite Center and the Emergency Family Center, now serve more than 500 homeless families each year.

To commemorate the 15th anniversary of providing services to homeless families, the American Red Cross in Greater New York hosted a conference on homelessness November 8-9 that brought together representatives from 15 Red Cross chapters across the country. Co-sponsored by the Health, Safety and Community Services Department at national headquarters, the conference provided attendees with an opportunity to network with one another, share successes and lessons learned, and participate in breakout sessions on a variety of topics such as case management, funding, program evaluation, risk management and welfare to work.

Empowerment, self-sufficiency, responsibility, stabilization, breaking the cycle, and continuum of care-these were the themes that permeated the presentations during the two-day conference. "We have a responsibility to respond to issues of homelessness and hunger in our communities," said Donna Galeno, administrator of homeless services for the American Red Cross in Greater New York. American Red Cross chapters across the country are answering that call, working together to meet the needs of the disenfranchised in their communities.

"I wasn't aware of the number of shelters throughout the country that are managed by American Red Cross chapters," said Linda Thurston, program manager for the St. Louis Area Chapter that operates the Second Chance Shelter in East St. Louis. Ten chapters currently operate shelters for the homeless, and the importance of information sharing and networking between chapters was repeatedly stressed throughout the conference.

There was also a strong emphasis on overturning public perceptions of homelessness. "It can happen to anybody," said Kathleen White, director of shelter services for the Lower Bucks County Chapter in Pennsylvania. Several of the chapters also shared stories of facing the NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) mentality in their communities. "Particularly in the suburbs, there is a resistance to the idea of having a homeless problem," she added.

A highlight of the New York conference was an anniversary reception at the chapter's headquarters on Wednesday, November 8, which was attended by chapter employees and volunteers, conference participants and community leaders. A certificate of recognition, signed by American Red Cross President and CEO Dr. Bernadine Healy, was presented by Scott Conner, vice president of Health, Safety and Community Services, to chapter CEO Robert M. Bender, Jr. The chapter's Homeless Services employees and volunteers were also recognized for the very real contributions they have made toward improving the quality of life for homeless families.

Today, Ms. Hardy is attending a job training workshop called "Making Choices about Work," and the Red Cross workshop co-facilitator, Linda Paparella, is driving home a message of empowerment to the workshop's seven participants. Ms. Paparella has the women read passages from Stuart Wilde's Affirmations: How to Expand Your Personal Power and Take Back Control of Your Life. A participant's voice resonates through the room with confidence and strength: "This is my day. I control each and every thing that comes to me. I accept complete responsibility for my life. I am power. So be it." There are nods around the room as seven women begin the process of achieving self-sufficiency and independence.