Poplar Bluff needs family shelter, says FCC

The homeless have names, faces and stories.

Tammie Bratton knows their sagas. She walks the railroad tracks and places she knows they sleep and try to stay alive. She checks on them and their needs. She is the assistant director of housing services for Family Counseling Center.

She’s heading the Point in Time Count, an annual count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless populations,

FCC is leading the count for Butler, Ripley, Carter and Stoddard counties while Jennifer Lay, a social worker at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, is directing the search in Wayne County.

While the count is ongoing and Bratton doesn’t have a good estimate yet, she said, “I can tell you for the five counties we have 18 chronic homeless and 54 non-chronic on our list.”

Several people have signed up to help with the count, however, once the weather changed, only seven volunteers showed up.

“Which was more than last year, so I am grateful,” she said.

The count helps Bratton gather numbers and data for grants. The count helps workers better understand the need for the community to come together for others.

“I know many think of people who live on the streets as homeless, but for many, becoming homeless often starts before living on the streets,” Bratton said. “The definition of homelessness is a person/family that is on the streets or a place that is not meant for human habitation. Couch surfing is considered doubling up and housed.”

Bratton sees a need in the community for a family shelter.

“I know at one time Community Action tried to get a family shelter but for some reason it fell through. I think the community feels as if the homeless population is not a problem for Poplar Bluff, but I am here to say it is growing steadily,” Bratton said.

The closest shelter for women is Great Circles in Doniphan and for men is the United Gospel Rescue Mission. UGRM is only a three-night stay, she said. Poplar Bluff also has Haven House, for women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

“If you have a mother and father and children, they would all have to separate to go into shelters to get back on their feet, even after their house burned,” Bratton explained. “It really is a tragic story for our families. The community needs to see there is a problem and speak up at our city meetings, our chamber meetings, and places like that. If the data is not there, the grants cannot be written. The community needs to work together to gather the data to use in these grants for future shelters.”

Bratton asks, “as an individual in the community, be a leader, the leader who starts a drive, talks to their church, gives donations, a leader who stands up in their community to find a voice to be heard. Heard by those out there who think homelessness is a choice, be the leader that stands with the community to fight against the stigma of homeless.”

Individuals, Sunday school classes, clubs or organizations may offer assistance to area homeless.

“You most definitely can contact me and I will give you a list, but if you use it in your everyday life, then they need it,” Bratton said. “FCC accepts donations of any kind. You can drop off at our offices or you can call and I can come pick it up. We do not take bags of clothes. We just don’t have the storage space for that. Also remember if you donate food, they usually don’t have a way of cooking and don’t have can openers.”

Those who want to help in any way may contact Bratton at 573-686-1200 ext. 3289, or email her at tammie.bratton@fccinc.org.