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Out of the comfort zone, into a shelter

Two City Council members get a brief taste of homelessness, offering an occasional suggestion to those who truly are struggling.

By ABHA BHATTARAI
Published October 1, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - To call it a good night's sleep would have been an overstatement.

The mats were less than plush, the air conditioning was erratic and the fluorescent ceiling lights were distracting.

City Council members James Bennett and Jeff Danner spent Wednesday night at St. Vincent de Paul to get a firsthand look at the city's homeless shelters.

"I don't know that anybody sleeps very soundly there, but it wasn't too uncomfortable," Bennett said.

Added Danner: "If we're making ordinances and funding programs, we should see what it is we're doing."

It was a little hard for Danner to blend into the crowd of 20-something men at the shelter. The Motorola RAZR cell phone clipped to his black belt was a bit of a giveaway. Bennett, in stained jeans and a denim shirt, fared a bit better.

The two men stuck together as they mingled with the homeless. They mostly listened, but Bennett did offer an occasional suggestion: "You need to learn something, a little concrete laying or something," he said to one man.

To another: "You need to be clean, stay clean."

Tracy Jones, who has been homeless on and off for seven years, said he appreciated their visit.

"I respect them for coming in here and talking to us, for trying to get a firsthand view," he said.

The homeless men gravitated to a table at the back filled with trays of watermelon, white chocolate mousse, a dip made with crushed peaches and boxes of chocolate. The special spread was in honor of the council members' visit.

"I feel like I'm in Beverly Hills," one man said.

Another, a 52-year-old named Patrick, said he had never seen "such a display of hors d'oeuvres with fancy dips and cauliflower."

About 9:30, the movie Open Water started in the TV room.

"Is this the one where they float in the water?" Bennett asked.

Yes, it is, someone replied.

"Oh, we're going to have nightmares," Danner said. "Just what we need."

By 10, many of the men were already lying on their mats. The fluorescent lights stay on until 11, so some flipped through books while others buried their heads under blankets.

Others lingered in the TV room to share their stories.

Mark Johnson said he has been homeless since a housing corporation bought the Pinellas Park mobile home park where he lived.

"When rent is $695 per month and you have to put down a deposit and the last month's rent, it ends up being $2,100," the 44-year-old told to Bennett. "You know how hard it is to save up $2,100?"

Bennett suggested getting a second job or finding a roommate.

At 11, it was lights out. Bennett and Danner took off their shoes and slipped into their sleeping bags.

"At home, I'm usually in bed around 10, so this is kind of a stretch," Bennett said. "This is more like living in the barracks. You're always out of your element."

In the shelter, wakeup time comes early, 4 a.m.

"By 4:40, we were out on the street with everyone else," Bennett said. He and Danner headed to a St. Petersburg diner for eggs and coffee.

When they returned to the shelter at 6 to help serve breakfast, "the doors were still locked up and everyone was waiting under the highway," Bennett said. "So we just left and started our days."

"It was an interesting experience, but it's different knowing that you have a car to go to, a house to go to, a life to go to," Bennett said. "But for the other people, their day starts out on the curb. You always have that in the back of your mind."

[Last modified September 30, 2006, 22:20:37]