by Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
For 22 years, members of Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church in Stafford County have traveled into Washington, D.C. along with four other churches in their cluster to distribute clothes, food and hygiene kits to the homeless population.
Earlier this year, someone asked Anji Budzynski, who is in her first year as pastor of Andrew Chapel, a question she couldn’t answer: “Why are we not doing this locally?”
Budzynski started asking that question of other county church and nonprofit leaders.
Many people in the area are familiar with the work of Micah Ecumenical Ministries, which was formed by a network of downtown Fredericksburg churches to provide services to the homeless population.
Those who become homeless in the counties surrounding Fredericksburg City often migrate to downtown where they can access the services provided by Micah. But this isn’t possible for everyone and there has been no equivalent to Micah Ministries operating in Stafford County.
So Budzynski, along with individuals and groups from other county churches, nonprofits and departments – including the Stafford Sheriff’s Office, New Hope United Methodist Church, Covenant Family Worship Center, the 516 Project and others – formed a new community outreach coalition called Stafford RISE.
RISE is an acronym for Rebuilding Independence through Support and Empowerment and its goal is to “help to lift up those people who are our unhoused neighbors,” said David Humphrey, a volunteer with the group.
The group began its outreach in July of this year, focusing its efforts on the string of hotels and motels along U.S. 17.
“We found that all of these hotels along U.S. 17 have a lot of people living here from day to day that don’t have permanent housing,” Humphrey said.
Those who live in the hotels face several compounding problems. One is the cost of living there. The Advance spoke to one woman who lives in the Excel Inn and Suites and said she pays $65 per night – or $1,950 per month, more than many mortgage payments.
“But we’re finding that they can’t get an apartment (or qualify for a mortgage) because they either have no credit or poor credit. That’s one thing,” Humphrey said. “Another thing is they don’t have enough money for the first and last month’s rent and the security deposit. That requires a couple of thousand dollars to get started. So they end up living in a motel.”
And while they might have shelter at night, motel residents – often single parents with children – don’t have access to a kitchen, or privacy, or, crucially, a permanent address.
Resources and transportation are required to apply for government assistance, and even if someone does qualify, “the government is not likely to send a check to a hotel, so they’re stuck,” Humphrey said.
Since organizing this summer, RISE has visited the U.S. 17 motels once a month, bringing clothes, food and a mobile health clinic to between 60 and 80 residents each time, Humphrey said.
In addition to meeting immediate needs, Budzynski said the vision of RISE is also to meet long-term needs, such as helping people apply for benefits and get connected with resources.
“We’re trying to also help empower them to get to the next step of what’s beyond,” she said.
At a Nov. 30 visit to Excel Inn and Suites, the 516 Project, a faith-based construction nonprofit, was serving hot meals; volunteers from the Stafford Sheriff’s Office had brought donated clothes; a mobile health clinic run by ICNA (Islamic Council of North America) Relief conducted free blood pressure screenings; congregants of Covenant Family Worship Center were offering prayer; and volunteers with Zoe Freedom Center, which helps people with substance addiction, were handing out “warmth bags” and the opioid overdose reversal medication Narcan.
Dana Brown, founder of Zoe Freedom Center, said her organization had brought 30 of the warmth bags – which were packed with blankets, hats, gloves, warm socks and snacks – and the same number of bags of Narcan to the Nov. 30 visit.
“We’ve already replenished what we set out,” she said. “One young lady who came up was wearing flip flops. She needs some socks. It’s cold out and getting colder.”
Brown said she’s not aware of another such coordinated effort to meet the needs of Stafford’s unhoused population.
And Humphrey also said it’s time for Stafford County to “pay more attention.”
“Micah and the Thurman Brisben Center in Fredericksburg have done such a fantastic job with decreasing the rate of homelessness. But in Stafford the attitude is, ‘There are homeless people in Stafford? Are you kidding me?’” Humphrey said. “But there is significant homelessness here. We’re trying to address the issue. It’s about time Stafford got in the game.”
