Crowded House
Area homeless shelter over capacity but looks ahead to future expansion

By Jason Reagan

If you passed Michael Workman on the street, you’re first thought probably wouldn’t be “This guy must be homeless.”

You might guess him to be exactly what he is — a heating-and-air-conditioning installer.

Michael Workman cleans a bathroom at the Hospitality House emergency shelter in Boone. Photo by Mark Mitchell

For the past year, Workman, 31, has dropped in and out of homelessness, though, finally landing in the emergency shelter of Hospitality House of Boone back in August.

With his ever-present tan cap, wrinkled khakis or jeans, trim beard and moustache and short, brown hair, Workman shatters the stereotype so many Americans carry about the homeless — the “Scary, Crazy Street Person” — replacing it with the image of “Just a Guy,” whose past events led to a homeless present.

Inside a surprisingly small house on King Street, Workman lives with between 17 and 24 other homeless people in an emergency shelter. There are about 20 beds tucked into various nooks and crannies but since the first cold snap back in October, Hospitality House executive director Lynne Mason has been forced to borrow cots from the local Red Cross or worse, turn some away.

“If they are going to be sleeping outside or in a vehicle, we will try to get them a bed,” Mason said.

For those who can, the shelter recommends people try to find a friend to stay with. There is a waiting list that changes every day.

“If we can’t house them, they’re back on the streets,” Mason added.

Those who are lucky enough to get a bed — and that currently includes families with small children — have to live in close quarters with little personal space. But, they go about their daily activities — keeping the house clean, helping prep twice-daily meals, looking for work or more permanent housing and, since the house is only licensed for 17 beds, going over safety and fire regulations every day.

The house is supposed to serve as an emergency shelter. Hospitality House maintains two other transitional shelters in Boone meant for those with special needs — disabilities, substance-abuse recovery or other issues.

But many residents face a growing problem all too familiar to area residents: Lack of affordable housing. Many have qualified for federal Section 8 housing, but there are simply not enough available units in the Boone area.
“We have a gentlemen who finally got disability and even with his Section 8 voucher, he cannot find a place to live,” Mason said.

Between July and August, the emergency shelter’s average residency hovered between 19 and 21. The problem is as clear as the solution: A need for more space.

In January, Watauga County gave the group nearly two acres of property off of Brookshire Road just east of Boone.

With deed in hand, the group’s board kicked off a $7.2 million combined campaign — Giving Hope a Hand — with a goal of raising $4.7 million to develop a 18,500 square-foot building that can house 62 people. Organizers hope to raise $3 million in three years.

So far, Hospitality House has garnered $1.8 million in pledges and donations from the community and is expecting several state, federal and private grants.

The new complex will allow the group to consolidate all of its operations — no more scattering of the homeless all over Boone— and will include facilities for families — a growing demographic in the homeless population.

“The general public has a misconception of who the homeless are,” Mason said.

“We all have that stereotype of what might be a street person or that addict on the street.”

Mason added that they account for a very small number of the homeless — maybe about 10 percent.

“But they’re more visible.”

For Michael Workman, his state of homelessness evolved over time.

A native of Burlington, N.C., Workman graduated from high school in 1995. A few years later, he moved to Ontario to be with his new daughter but a tightening job market and personal problems led Workman on a yo-yo trek between Canada, New York and North Carolina until he finally landed back home — jobless and without hope.

“I ended up living in a camper with my dad. It had no heat, no running water.”

A shaky kind of salvation came Michael’s way when a friend invited him to live in his house in Newland for $100 a week. Workman quickly accepted and began picking up local work in heating and cooling.

In May, his so-called friend decided to quit his job and kicked Workman out in the ensuing drama that followed.

“The next thing I know, they were dropping me off in Boone on the sidewalk and I found myself in this situation,” Workman said, waving his hand around a tiny room at the shelter.

Like many homeless, Workman had to wait until a vacancy opened up. He made do by crashing with acquaintances and a new girlfriend who eventually threw him out.

“I kept coming down here and trying to get in but they didn’t have no beds,” he said.

After his breakup, a space opened up and Workman began a climb he hopes will take him to a normal life.

“When I needed it the most, Hospitality House was there to help me.”

Workman works with a local heating/cooling company when there is work to be had. Spotty weather conditions and a slowing economy often mean he goes without a paycheck when his services aren’t needed.

Michael’s eyes light up when he begins to talk about his goals. He wants to attend a community college to earn a degree in heating/air-conditioning service tech. Currently, he takes a job skills class at Grace Lutheran Church in Boone.

“I got to meet my goals halfway but I think I can get there,” he said.

In the meantime, his life is a regiment of sporadic work, daily chores and a question about the future that hangs over every resident.

“I think a lot of homeless people want to better their lives,” he said.

“I used to run around, drink and do drugs and other stuff. And, I don’t need that stuff. It don’t do nothing but get in the way of my goals.”

Michael’s plight isn’t unique. As each day brings more sour economic news, homeless advocates are starting to see a ripple effect — a surge in numbers and needs.

“There are an increasing number who are being affected in a very negative way in these economic times and we’re just starting to feel the brunt of that,” Mason said.

Although only a few may be visible along King Street, Mason says many are simply good at keeping a low profile.

“People do sleep in their vehicles. They will reside in vacant buildings. We have people living in wood sheds.”
Those who cling to a daily litany of survival techniques cover the entire spectrum of humanity — even former professionals.

“Homelessness knows no socioeconomic barriers,” Mason said.

Ask Barry Halpert.

In September 2004, Halpert, a former accountant based in Foscoe, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of aiding or assisting in the preparation of fraudulent North Carolina individual income tax returns.

A Wake County superior court judge sentenced Halpert to two consecutive 20-month minimum, 24-month maximum prison terms.

He was released this past September.

As a respected business owner and community organizer — active in the local Jewish community and various non-profits — Halpert never expected to be on the receiving end of a local relief agency.

“I knew this place,” he said, looking around the shelter office, “But I didn’t really know it.”

Jobless and virtually penniless after serving a four-year stretch, Halpert eventually found a niche at the shelter in hopes of earning enough to afford an apartment.

“I am so thankful for this place,” he said. “Without it, I don’t know what I’d do.”

Instead of filing tax returns, Halpert now flips flapjacks and other meals at the Sunrise Grill and helps out as a Salvation Army bell ringer.

No longer occupied with figures and deductions, Halpert found a new vocational outlet with cooking. He regularly helps with the shelter meals — he recently cooked a 20-pound turkey for the capacity crowd.

On Sundays, Halpert volunteers to help cook a free breakfast offered at the First Presbyterian Church of Boone.

“It’s a lifeline,” he said of the shelter and his newfound job.

“I put myself in this situation so only I can pull myself out of it.”

Pulling oneself out of difficulty seems to be the overarching theme at Hospitality House — from the top down. Organizers hope to raise most of the money for the combined capital campaign within the region.

“This is going to be a shelter our community builds,” Mason said. “It’s amazing — the amount of community support.”

Hospitality House of Boone is a private, non-profit agency and has been around for 23 years.

Although the group can always use volunteers and donations, space is a factor in every aspect of its operation. Donated clothing takes up space — a cash donation allows the shelter to issue thrift-store vouchers which help cloth clients without taking up more room.

Mostly, they need money to avoid having to spend another winter in cramped, overcrowded spaces.

“I think anyone of us who has a roof over our heads right now needs to find a way to reach out and give, even if it’s a little bit,” Mason said, adding she has seen checks come through the door between $10 and $10,000.

Volunteers are always welcome but, again, space limits what can be done. Trained volunteers (there is a program) can often provide relief for overworked office staff members.

“When we get to the new shelter we’re going to have so many opportunities for volunteers,” Mason said.

Hospitality House — an agency of the High Country United Way — serves seven counties including Ashe, Avery, Allegheny, Mitchell, Wilkes, Watauga and Yancey. Mason estimates there are 1,069 homeless on any given night in the region.

Some we’ll never see while others, we may bump into in the grocery store or while out for a walk.

People like Michael Workman.

“Some people think homeless people can’t amount to anything,” he said.

Workman is betting he can.

For more information about Hospitality House’s Giving Hope a Hand campaign, call (828) 264-1237 or send an e-mail to hospitalityhouse@bellsouth.net.

Hospitality House will kick off its annual Hearts of Hospitality Valentine Ball — themed “Dancing with the Stars!” on Feb. 7.

See next week’s issue of The Mountain Times for more information.