Homelessness doesn’t have a stereotype, awareness advocates say

CEDAR RAPIDS - Bailey Mendenhall says if a stereotype exists of those who are homeless, she doesn't fit the bill.

'For me, homelessness looks different,” Mendenhall said Wednesday during a homeless memorial ceremony at the Catherine McAuley Center, 866 Fourth Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids. 'I had a good family. Going to work and explaining I lived in a shelter, (co-workers) were like, ‘What do you mean?' ”

Mendenhall, 29, has stayed in the Catherine McAuley Center's transitional housing for the last six months after years punctuated by drug and alcohol addiction that cost her jobs, she said. She now works at Ohe Industries in Marion and can stay at the center for two years.

She spoke during the ceremony about the importance of recognizing homelessness in Cedar Rapids and said she wants to show that homelessness has no usual suspects and she wants to do her part to help others who are homeless.

'Since I've moved to Cedar Rapids and I've had so many benefits using shelters and being involved in the community, I'm actively trying to reach out and improve the services I'm using,” Mendenhall said. 'People can reach out and use services when they need help and not be stuck in a bad situation.”

A native of Des Moines, Mendenhall said those who are homeless shouldn't let pride get in the way of asking for help. She said spending nights in her car or trying to find a couch on which she could sleep put her in unsafe situations. She also understands that people with her background may have a difficult time finding a job that pays the rent.

Wednesday's ceremony was held on National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day, which coincides with the Winter Solstice - the longest night of the year.

'On the longest day of the year, you really see that nighttime comes a lot earlier and with nighttime comes trying to find somewhere to stay warm, to be for the night,” said Mendenhall. 'It's one of those days where people really do struggle quite a bit. You find somewhere heated, stay at a mall until it closes, try to find somewhere to be for the night that's reasonably warm.

'There are times I was stuck outside, and it's just scary.”

Jennifer Tibbets, housing program manager at the Catherine McAuley Center, said overflow shelters are open as safe spaces for homeless individuals on frigid winter nights. She and other employees and residents at the center - along with Phoebe Trepp, executive director of the Willis Dady shelter in Cedar Rapids - observed a moment of silence for those who died while experiencing homelessness.

Susie Weinacht, a member of the Cedar Rapids City Council, read a proclamation recognizing the day as a time to help homeless individuals and fight for affordable housing.

Trepp asked Cedar Rapids residents to urge elected leaders to champion the cause for more affordable housing and asked for more volunteers and fewer assumptions about homelessness.

'We all need volunteers to stay overnight in the shelters, helping with accounting, in the donation room,” Trepp said. 'It takes a community to keep these services going. (And) make relationships, not assumptions.”

Mendenhall agreed.

'It can happen to anybody,” she said. 'It might not be the person on the street. It might be the person staying on the couch somewhere not knowing where they're going to stay the next day.”

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