High waters and cold temperatures affect homeless

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By Mary Louise Speer | Wednesday, April 30, 2008 |

Homeless people who camp out in areas along the Mississippi River are being flooded out of their makeshift homes.

Many are calling area nonprofit organizations to find replacements for tents, blankets and cardboard shelters destroyed by the flood and to cope with the harsh weather.

“Unfortunately, a lot of guys were camped down by the river, and they can’t stay there right now,“ said Terry Gleize, director of King’s Harvest, Davenport. “We’ve just noticed a big increase with people coming into eat and phone calls on ‘where can we stay?’”

The nonprofit group affiliated with the Vineyard Church of Davenport assists homeless people with practical resources, sleeping rooms for recovering addicts and provides meals and groceries. Leaders are scrambling to find enough resources to meet the demand for small tents, sleeping bags and cash donations to help people put deposits on apartments.

“Our sleeping rooms are full. Our donations are down right now. A lot of our people have stopped giving in the last month or two, and we’re having a heck of a time saying ‘no,’ ” she said.

A couple of men were looking for bus tickets because they don’t know where to go, she said.

At John Lewis Community Services in Davenport, 80 to 85 adult men and women are staying at the emergency services shelter.

“It’s been a brutal winter, followed by an insane spring,“ said Jason Bilbrey, adult shelter manager. “Our numbers haven’t really dropped off. We’ve had such a surge with numbers since the beginning of winter.”

The homeless count for the Quad-Cities is around 600 to 700, Bilbrey said. Trying to calculate exactly how many people live in camps along the Mississippi is difficult, but he estimated about 60.

Some are people who can’t handle staying in a shelter with a lot of others in close proximity, he said. He suspects many are staying temporarily with family or friends until their sites dry out.

“Their gear has been ruined. There will be a lot of people having an even harder time,” he said.

Their most pressing needs are for items such as toilet paper, hygiene items and spare blankets, he said.

The Rev. Gary McBrien of the Christian Care Men’s Rescue Mission, 2209 3rd Ave., Rock Island, has seen an increase in the number of people seeking meals that the mission serves three times a day.

“No one knows how long the water will stay. It’s not safe for them to be camping on that ground,” McBrien said.

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.

Donations needed

Christian Care Men’s Rescue Mission, 2209 3rd Ave., Rock Island, needs food donations. For more information, call (309) 786-5734.

John Lewis Community Services welcomes donations at 1016 W. 5th St., Davenport, from 9 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m.

King’s Harvest can be contacted by calling (563) 570-4536 or stop by 824 W. 3rd St., Davenport.