'It tugs at your heart’

DENTON – While homelessness is a serious issue in Caroline County and across the Mid-Shore region, an army of organizations and agencies are corralling their expertise and passion to help the unhoused find their way forward. 

For some experiencing homelessness, it is simply a chapter in their lives. But for others, homelessness is like a novel; for whatever reason, their plight is “chronic,” but it doesn’t define who they are.  

“It tugs at your heart,” said America McKinney, a support specialist for the Mid-Shore area. “It's heartbreaking at times, but there is a lot of success with (the) programs” offered in the Mid-Shore area. 

Understanding the problem and solutions requires a grasp of the alphabet soup of federal, state and local agencies, as well as how they fund programs and meet the needs of real people who find themselves, often through no fault of their own, without stable housing and no safety net. 

Supporting those who are unhoused will be part of a day-long effort Wednesday, Jan. 29, when the entire country – including the Mid-Shore counties – will be participating in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Point-in-Time Count (PIT), an annual snapshot of the number of individuals in shelters, temporary housing and unsheltered settings.  

To gather data for the survey, a group of administrators and volunteers will locate and survey, for example, those camping in woods, sleeping in their cars, and staying in hotels or emergency shelters. The survey is vital in securing federal funding for temporary or permanent housing. 

Across the state Continuums of Care (CoC) spearhead the effort. The Mid-Shore’s CoC, otherwise known as the Mid-Shore Roundtable on Homelessness, is dedicated to coordinating the Mid-Shore counties’ response. The Roundtable meets monthly to coordinate resources and responses. It’s comprised of community leaders, including clergy, social services professionals, and school superintendents. 

Mid Shore Behavioral Health (MSBH) is the lead agency for the 5-county CoC, which “strives to address the complex issue of homelessness,” according to MSBH’s website. It applies annually for funding from HUD to provide permanent supportive housing for individuals and families and have a mental health disability in the Mid-Shore counties of Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Talbot and Dorchester. 

However, the Roundtable’s 3-person CoC administrative team based in Easton does much more on a daily basis. 

Heading the team is Manager Ashley Kessinger, along with Support Specialist America McKinney and Housing Specialist Jimmy Morris. They are on the job daily locating the unhoused, making phone calls, arranging for emergency housing, and overseeing “the main grants that come in through HUD and the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD),” Kessinger said. 

Also on Jan. 29, the Caroline Homeless Board will sponsor a Caroline Cares Community Resource Day featuring many resources available “all at once under one roof” 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 29, at St. Luke’s Methodist Church in Denton.  

At the resource day, Kessinger and McKinney will help the two Caroline-based shelters complete the PIT surveys. Volunteers from civic organizations earn community service hours by helping out. 

“That's an amazing event (for its) number of resources,” Kessinger said. “The MVA comes out, social services. a dentist, a barber, a hairdresser.” The variety of services can help people get to their next step in their quest for self-stabilization. 

However, not everyone wants to be discovered and surveyed. The PIT survey will identify many of the unhoused, but not all. Morris said he recently received a tip on a homeless encampment in Federalsburg.  

“I go back there, and I see things (in the woods) that I know some people are living back there, but sometimes they don't want to speak to authorities,” Morris said. If individuals are encountered, “(I tell them) ‘I'm not the police’ to try to make them feel more comfortable.” 

Other encampments in Caroline County are behind Walmart and occasionally at Crouse Park, both in Denton. 

“People think that (homelessness) looks a certain way: someone dirty, disheveled, and … it really doesn't,” Kessinger said. “You never know what someone may be going through. And this work is just is so meaningful. I thoroughly enjoy being able to help even one person.” 

“You can’t put a price on that,” Morris said.  

“You can't, and it's hard work,” Kessinger said. “It's just the three of us for the whole Mid-Shore. So, it is a lot, but we thoroughly enjoy it. And I can say that this whole team is so passionate about what they do, and don't really think twice about the work sometimes. You just you need to help people.” 

While some of his clients have substance use or mental health issues, Morris said part of his job is helping them put together a housing stabilization plan to help them achieve independence. While a plan isn’t required, each agency has adopted it in their case management,  

“There have been a lot of success stories,” Morris said. “I've seen (people) go from the woods to driving a tractor trailer. It does happen for those that want it to happen, and … the providers are the ones who can help provide them the guidance they need to obtain that, but they have to want it.” 

One of the residents of Martin’s House ten years ago was McKinney herself.  

“I was in homelessness for over a year with two children,” she said. “So it's just a testament that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It is hard work, and you do have to be willing to work your plan, because it's not a plan that they create for you; they assist you with it.” 

“I don't ever want to forget what that felt like in that season of my life, because sometimes when those phone calls get hard and it's hard work, but I'm reminded daily that they need people that care,” McKinney said.  

With their $1.6 million budget, the Roundtable oversees the Homelessness Solutions Program (HSP), which includes emergency shelter and the housing stabilization programs Rapid Rehousing and Homelessness Prevention, outreach and a new homeless youth program. 

Seven agencies in the 5-county area work with the Roundtable to provide services to just over 900 clients. Two of those agencies are based in Caroline County: Martin’s House and Barn in Ridgely and His Hope Ministries in Denton, “very important providers in Caroline County,” Kessinger said. However, all seven agencies serve the entire Mid-Shore area.  

Both shelters can house 20 to 30 people at any one time, Kessinger said. His Hope Haven is a day shelter that operates September through the end of April. The shelter on Camp Road has five family rooms, six beds for females and six for males. 

Martin’s House and Barn in Ridgely is a “low barrier,” 24/7 year-round shelter, with most of its guests from Caroline County. A thrift store, food pantry and homelessness prevention services also are part of the mission. 

“There is no way that we are going to address housing instability and homelessness if we are not making it a collaborative effort,” said Deborah Vornbrock, executive director of Martin’s House and Barn. “No single organization can solve homelessness. It takes a collective approach, involving nonprofits, government, business and the community.”    

The CoC team is grateful for the collaboration of the seven agencies, which also include Delmarva Community Services in Dorchester, the Maryland Rural Development Center in Kent, Haven Ministries in Queen Anne’s, and Neighborhood Service Center in Talbot, 

“We're lucky, because our providers are great, and that does help make the work easier when we can all work together (with) each provider reaching out to another provider if they need to connect resources or find shelter or a hotel or food or showers,” McKinney said.  

“We try very hard to do a warm handoff and make sure that person is connected to the right person and is being taken care of before we jump out of a situation,” she said. 

Part 3 of this series in the March edition of the Caroline Review will explore possible solutions to the problem of homelessness on the Mid-Shore.