Homeless Helping Homeless

Harry and Mary Fleegel are a retired couple in their seventies who became involved in serving the Homeless Population in St. Cloud, MN. After spending time working in area shelters, they consulted with folks experiencing homelessness to create an organization called Homeless Helping Homeless.  Homeless Helping Homeless addresses the most pressing needs of this community by working alongside people experiencing homelessness.  

With over 100 volunteers, some who are homeless and some who aren’t, they help coordinate many services for area people experiencing homelessness. They have access to 20 hotel rooms where they house the unsheltered and bring them meals. They coordinate with other organizations to interact with people experiencing homelessness every day of the week at Lake George where food and clothing are distributed. Rides have been organized to help people with everything from apartment hunting to getting to jobs. They collect unwanted furniture from donors to help their clients who move into empty apartments that don’t have money for furniture. And now they have a warming center that is a “no barriers” setting for people in the dark winter months. However, the center lacks a shower, and Harry and Mary could use our help 

Harry expressed his thoughts on a shower,  

“Since we are trying to establish a need for a shower it would probably be beneficial to elaborate on the reasons why those experiencing homelessness have difficulty finding showers. When Covid 19 hit, all of the usual place’s folks living outside used to clean up, closed.  Gyms, the Salvation Army, the YMCA, and the Place of Hope no longer allowedshowering because they were closed to the public.  Health experts encouraged sanitation and hand washing, but even that became nearly impossible. The library and most public restrooms were closed, as were restaurants.  Hand sanitizer flew off the shelves and became unavailable even if you had money.  Personal cleanliness became nearly impossible.  Even with some of these places re-opening showering remains a rare luxury. 

In November, the Lincoln Center day and warming place opened.  Soon there were people coming to the center who had not had a chance to shower or clean up in weeks.   Tired, dirty, hungry and cold, folks came, and while the shelter is able to provide them with a warm place to rest and some food, it has no shower. Recently a gym reopened but it is located miles away. It takes over an hour to get there by bus and walking while wet in Minnesota in February is dangerous.  A truck stop near by offers showers, but they cost $8 each- a prohibitive cost if a shower was provided every second day to 15 to 18 people.  So, an on-site handicapped accessible shower is desperately needed in the center. The landlord has ok'ed it. We just need the funds. 
 
We believe Every human being has worth and value and should be treated with respect.   Showers and the ability to apply for jobs and housing while clean and presentable definitely makes a difference.  Being in public places or having to meet with others while dirty and smelly is degrading and dehumanizing. The ability to shower is a crucial part of maintaining one's dignity and worth. Can you help us attain this goal?” 
 
                                                                                        A Little about the Warming Place 

The city of St Cloud assisted with locating a space that they keep open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep people warm and safe from Minnesota winters. The Warming place is a No Barrier shelter where anyone who is homeless will be welcomed and won’t be turned away. They are often working with people who are banned from other shelters.  The Warming Place has TV’s, WIFI, Computers, recliners, and blankets that anyone there can use. They also have food and snacks that their guests can eat during their stay. This center gives the homeless community access to resources that they can use to get jobs and housing. They allow their clients to use the Center’s address and number as their own when applying for jobs and resources. Their wish is to give this population access to the resources that they need. 

Harry and Mary have a dream to build an onsite shower for their guests who currently don’t have access to showers. They believe that showers are crucial to instilling dignity and self respect in a person.  Harry and Mary have a motto: “Every human being has worth and value and should be treated with respect”. They hope people who are working with vulnerable populations understand that all people have talent and ideas and should be treated like family. They hope the public can learn to approach this population without the judgments or pre-conceived stereotypes that can sometimes blind folks from helping others. Help us help them move toward this goal.


                                           ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE WARMING PLACE TO BUILD THE SHOWERS.