As an unforgiving Arctic blast swept through Southeast Texas this week, temperatures plummeted into the teens at night, leaving Beaumont’s homeless population facing a brutal fight for survival. With nearly 500 individuals living in tents, under bridges and in abandoned buildings, according to estimates provided by Golden Triangle officials, emergency response teams and local shelters sprang into action – racing against the cold to provide warmth, food and shelter. Despite ongoing efforts, the frigid weather posed a new set of challenges, forcing city officials to balance compassion with safety, as warming stations and shelters worked overtime to meet the growing demand.
In Texas, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, there are 27,277 people experiencing homelessness on any given night, or 9 out of every 10,000 people. The national numbers are starker still. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress, the most recent counts reveal that 653,104 people – or about 20 of every 10,000 people in the United States – experienced homelessness.
The city of Beaumont Texas Office of Emergency Management coordinated efforts with local agencies to ensure the safety of the unhoused population ahead of the freezing temperatures noted the week of Jan. 21, according to Tracy Kennick, director of Communications/public information officer.
“We’re encouraging our vulnerable populations to take advantage of the transportation services and seek shelter before the severe weather hits,” said Kennick. Although the city-operated transit buses served as warming stations throughout the night for weeks leading up to the weather event, temporarily suspending the service for the safety of both operators and passengers was a genuine concern – which became a reality at the height of cold weather Jan. 21.
Some Other Place and the Salvation Army of Jefferson County provided 24-hour service at their shelters, while Pastor Eric Ardoin, of “Warm Hands, Warm Hearts,” offered his facility as an overflow shelter.
As for pets of unhoused people, Beaumont Street Pets secured Veterinarian Dr. Read Arden at Animal Medical and Surgical Hospital to open his building to care for the pets of those staying overnight at the Salvation Army. Beaumont Animal Care coordinated efforts to get foster families to ensure no animals were left outside.
To help keep the homeless sheltered during the wintery elements, one downtown center extended its hours to accommodate the needed.
Laura Turner, the new director of Henry’s Place, located at 1107 McFaddin St., extended hours to assist the homeless. Turner became director Jan. 6, but was volunteering for weeks prior to taking over. Normally, the day center for the homeless is open from 8:30 – 11 a.m. and from 1 – 5 p.m.
“However, two weeks ago, when we were open, we were letting people in earlier and we were staying later, as needed, based off of the Salvation Army and when they’re letting people in and out,” said Turner. “They didn’t make people leave until about 9 a.m. There are people who are not staying there, so we try to accommodate them. But, working with volunteers, I have to do what I can.”
According to Turner, Henry’s Place accommodates about 40 people every day during cold weather.
“They can come in; they can sit down; they can get coffee and hot chocolate; they can get oatmeal and grits,” she said of the day center offerings. “They can wash their laundry, take showers, use the restroom and receive their mail here.”
Volunteers step up
During the Jan. 9 monthly meeting of the Beaumont Mayor’s Homeless Coalition, Christopher Robertson, executive director for Some Other Place, recognized the efforts of Warm Hands, Warm Hearts volunteers, who worked to keep Henry’s Place open during the holidays. Some Other Place’s prior director had planned for the heavily-utilized nonprofit to be closed during the two-week holiday period. Volunteers from Warm Hands, Warm Hearts, pastored by Eric and Juanita Ardoin, couldn’t see the needed service go unmanned for such an extended period during what is traditionally a time when homeless populations are most in need.
Henry Place’s Turner, already working with leaders from Warm Hands, Warm Hearts and new Some Other Place director Robertson devised a plan to link-up. Could she pull it off, the nonprofits asked.
“And, I was like, ‘I’ll figure it out,’” said Turner. “Eric and Juanita got the church people to come. They’ve got the Unity brothers and other halfway houses that they work with that come with them, you know, so they’ve got a bigger force of physical labor in the way.
“We talked about what each of our availability was and so, thankfully, it wasn’t also freezing. So, all we had to do was just have the normal operating hours and that was good.
“It worked out great.”
Hurdles for homeless
Turner said the biggest hurdle homeless people face all year is identification and mail.
“Because you got to have a place to send it or you can’t even get services,” Turner explained of the trouble with requiring displaced individuals to maintain a mailing address. Persons higher up the food chain are working on it, Turner added, but a solution can’t come soon enough. “They’ve been tackling that, but mail is piling up left and right because they don’t have the means to get the identification they need to get housing, employment or benefits, even.
“It’s really a hindrance too – especially when people are coming from out of state, that’s an extra issue.”
For food, the homeless population that can navigate the area in and around downtown Beaumont have Henry’s Place that serves breakfast, the Anne Rogers Vaxler Nutrition Center that provides hot lunches seven days a week, and the Salvation Army serving dinner.
“There are quite a few ministries that come out on the weekends,” added Turner. “Honestly, they eat and have food regularly given to them.”
The First United Methodist Church Beaumont, 701 Calder Ave., will host Kairos Kitchen which is open at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. The ministry serves a hot meal to the homeless, along with fellowship and prayer, as well as Holy Communion. Kairos Kitchen is the fourth Saturday of each month.
Turner added that, in the cold weather, a lot of persons experiencing homelessness have animals that they are not willing to leave behind. It isn’t unusual to find that numerous clusters of tents and tarp structures throughout Beaumont serve as a refuge for indigent individuals and their four-legged companions. The lack of housing doesn’t diminish persons taking pride in caring for their shelter, however meager, and the pets they hold dear, Turner explained.
“It’s been really good for them and they take pride in that,” said Turner. “They really appreciate all the resources and keep it cleaned up. It helps to know that they feel comfortable at night and, when they come here in the morning, they’re not frazzled out, feeling like they’re just out in the in the middle of God-knows-what all night long.”
Turner is not a stranger to the homeless population. Her ministry, Bibles and Bug Spray, has been a frequent friend to those patronizing Henry’s Place, hosting once-a-week Bible studies for about a year.
“I’ve been ministering out on the streets for five or six years,” Turner said.
Turner isn’t the only advocate for persons experiencing homelessness in Southeast Texas. A village, growing (but not as fast as the homeless population), is hard at work to address the needs of transient residents.
A point-in-time
The Point-in-Time (PIT) count for the Southeast Texas Coalition for the Homeless (STCH) is scheduled for Jan. 23. PIT accounts for the number of unhoused persons on a single night in January.
Dr. Janeal White, the regional PIT lead, stated STCH canvasses Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties to gather valuable information about the needs of our unhoused neighbors.
According to White, HUD uses the PIT number to determine funding eligibility for a community.
“So, the more accurate our data, the more money that our community can get to bring, and to provide, services and housing,” White said. “It’s a really big deal, it’s important.”
Beaumont’s Community Service Manager Jes Prince reported the annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application portal is open through Jan. 31 via the city website or www.Texas.gov. Funding granted through CDBGs can be utilized to assist homeless populations, but the money can only go so far and is for a wide swath of the population.
“The community development block grant funding is specifically for nonprofits that are offering public services to low-to-moderate income persons,” Prince detailed, adding that Prince the city is in the process of developing the Fiscal Year 2025-2029 HUD Consolidated Plan, which guides the city in its use of funding received annually from HUD for the CDBG and HOME Investment Partnerships Program for the next five years.
For those wanting to participate in the planning process, Prince said the city’s Community Development Department, along with consultant, Grow America, will host two virtual community input meetings within the next few days. The meetings are scheduled from 6 – 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, and 2 – 3 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 29. Contact Patricia Santa Cruz to register for a meeting at psantacruz@growamerica.org or call (281) 772-0233.
Homelessness charted over the last several years has continued to rise, and HUD anticipates the trend to continue due to protections lost with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
“Many shelters that had reduced shelter capacity through de-concentration (social distancing for COVID-19) efforts that were in effect during the 2021 and 2022 PIT counts had gone back to full capacity. The strengthening of safety net programs, income protections and eviction moratoria in-place during the pandemic had also begun to expire. For all these reasons, comparisons to both pandemic and pre-pandemic years should be done with caution,” HUD warned Congress in its latest homelessness report. “Between 2022 and 2023, the total number of people experiencing homelessness increased by 70,642 people (or 12%). The overall increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness between 2022 and 2023 reflects both a sharp increase in the number of people experiencing sheltered homelessness, which increased by 47,864 people (or 14%), and increases in the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, which increased by 22,778 people (or 10%) over the last year.”