Homelessness looks different in the caring Midwest

By Catherine Odson, codson@miconews.com

Catherine Odson, Chalk Talk

In the blur of people on the streets of Philadelphia, her face was one of the few things staying still.

Her blue eyeshadow seemed painted on her ashen face, and her orange lipstick was bright, even under a hot July sun.

Four months later, what’s it like at her corner on Market Street?

She never asked for help, but I still can’t shake her face from my head.

Most of the 4,000 Philadelphia homeless aren’t on the streets of Center City, the central business district next to the historical sites, but you still would be hard pressed to navigate the area without being asked for money. It quickly gets old. But a while after that, so does ignoring the problem.

It’s easier to ignore in Kansas.

Homelessness is relatively hidden.

Rather than the stereotyped on-the-street lifestyle, people here turn to family and friends for help and support, Jay Preston, director of My Father’s House in Paola, told staff writer Erin Wisdom. Others stay at My Father’s House or live out of their cars.

Even though homelessness is hard to see, it’s still a problem, Preston said.

Center City leaders are hoping their problem will begin to look similar.

Whereas people used to hand off spare change in Philadelphia, the Real Change campaign is trying to redirect donations to credible charities and end panhandling. Loose change could fund drug and alcohol addiction, campaign organizers say, and keep people on the streets, instead of in shelters.

But the spirit of asking for loose change won’t leave the city completely.

Every Sunday, a single man would move from car to car along the Broad Street subway line, asking each of us to open our hearts and donate 10 or 15 cents to help a community group provide blankets, sandwiches and an apple or orange — never both, he said.

People emptied the change from their wallets and pockets, dropping coins and dollar bills alike into this man’s envelope.

Each donation, regardless of its size, was met with heartfelt thanks. No questions asked, no judgments made.

It was never a lot, but it was something — something that could help those who don’t have the small-town support get through another day.