by Eric Zuerndorfer
CHINATOWN – The disjointed line stretches far out the door and winds down the sidewalk. The day is cold and blustery, especially for those without jackets. A man clutches a bag full of empty cans. Nobody seems in a hurry. When the man with the cans reaches the front, a St. Francis House employee hands him his food stamp and he steps in another line and waits again.
“[The homeless] spend most of their days going from food program to program and getting medical help,” said Fred Smith, director of program development research and evaluation at the St. Francis House shelter. “Then they spend their time waiting in line for food stamps and medication.”
The city’s most recent homeless census shows a 4 percent increase in homelessness in the Boston area. But Smith and others working in the shelters say the census may not predict the future of the homeless problem.
“There are reasons to be optimistic,” Smith said of the census’ statistics. “But it’s really too early to tell.”
St. Francis House on 39 Boylston Street, serves about 1,000 meals a day, said Elizabeth Lund, the communications director.
“The census is just a snapshot,” Lund said. “It doesn’t really give you the full picture.”
St. Francis House is expanding its “Housing First” project, which provides housing to chronically homeless men and women. In the past, individuals seeking their own homes would have to go through multiple levels of housing, progressing from the street to a public shelter, to a state-run shelter, a traditional housing program, and finally their own apartment.
“It remains to be seen if they can live independently,” Smith said.
The project has seen mixed results. Some find they get lonely and cannot make it in a home without a shelter’s assistance.
“I was [in the apartment] for two weeks, but I just couldn’t stand it,” said Benny Copper, a 28-year-old man who has been homeless for the past six months and three times in the past four years. “I’ve never really lived on my own and I felt lost.”
Many of the homeless in the “Housing First” project experience the same problems.
“For some, the shelter is uncomfortable and dehumanizing, but we find that most come back here, because they need to replace the social networking,” Smith said. “Everyone should have a home, but it may not be the best for them.”
St. Francis House offers care to the homeless as long as they need it.
“[St. Francis House] started here because that’s where the homeless were most prevalent,” Smith said. “Today, we like to think homeless people are there because St. Francis House is there.”