Covington's homeless - life on the streets
By John Decker
12 Sep 2007
"The 1990 Census showed one homeless person in Northern Kentucky. Now, we all know that it isn't true," says Molly Navin as she prepares meals for the homeless in a soup kitchen in Covington.
"We are serving 180 meals a day here, and we estimate that a third of our guests are homeless. That's 60 people a day," she says.
Navin is the director of the Parish Kitchen, a soup kitchen along Pike Street in Covington's business district. Many of Covington's homeless sleep in the streets, in cars, under bridges, or along the banks of the Ohio River because there are no men's shelters in town. Some hike across the bridge to Cincinnati and sleep in the Drop In Center. Most try avoid the "Drop" because it is dangerous, dirty and has too many rules.
DJ, has called the banks of the Ohio his home for more than ten years. "I hate missions, like the Drop In, because they give you bugs and all kinds of diseases," he says. "There are people coughing, urinating, defecating down their legs, and on the cement floors. People are lying three-inches apart on mats. The guy next to you is drunk and you're not. You smell his wine breath and you want to throw up. Things get stolen, it's not safe,"he says.
"I like it right here (along the riverbank). I've got what I need... my dumpster with food, I always find a spot near a dumpster. I've got my cats, my buddies, and I got my barrel (for fires). What more could you want? Ah, maybe a piece of ass."
Many of the homeless share DJ's sentiments about the shelters. They don't like to live under other people's rules. They would rather maintain a sense of freedom and independence. They enjoy being able to make decisions for themselves.
Many of the men left wives, families, jobs, and houses behind when they went to the streets. "Homelessness is a well-kept secret," says Dolph. "If most people knew how easy it was to get by like this, there would be a lot more people living like we do," says Dolph who calls the riverbank his home. "Don't get me wrong though, there's a whole lot of work in this not working shit," he says as he heads up the flood wall which separates the banks of the river from the City of Covington.
Dolph heads into town to panhandle with his girlfriend Tara. They walk toward the parking lots of fast food restaurants and gas stations in the area, asking people for money during the lunch rush. Some days are better than others for panhandling; It is an art, and some of the homeless are better at it than others. Tara and Dolph, for example, bring along their puppy to gain sympathy from potential customers. Dolph spots a man getting out of a new pickup truck and walks over to give him a try. "Excuse me sir, but can I ask you a small question? I'm homeless and living on the riverbank and me and my girl are hungry. Could you spare some change so that we could get something to eat?" he asks sympathetically. After a few more convincing lines, the man reaches into his pocket and hands Dolph a dollar. He thanks the gentleman and looks for another person he might be able to solicit. Panhandling is one of the daily chores for many of the homeless in the city. They are often chased from parking lots by angry restaurant and store managers who call the police claiming they are harassing their customers.
In Covington, the last homeless shelter for men closed down over two years ago due to a lack of funds. Today, the closest men's shelter is the Drop-In Center in downtown Cincinnati. Few of the homeless are willing to cross the bridge into Cincinnati for the night; most prefer to find their own place to stay. A small shelter on Pike Street houses a dozen women and children looking for permanent homes. Barbara Barker, the assistant director of the Storehouse Ministries, has been working with the homeless in Covington for five years. Her organization is helping some men overcome their homelessness, while it hasn't been able to reach others.
The Storehouse Ministries run the Eagle Life Change Program, aimed at getting the homeless off of the streets and into a productive life through the teaching of religion and responsibility. The nine-month program provides the men who enroll with a place to stay, meals, alcohol abuse counseling, as well as job and educational training. They are also required to attend Bible study classes, an aspect of the program that keeps away many of the street people.
More photos from this series are at: http://www.johndeckerphotography.com/
2 responses
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Joseph Arpke gave props (7 Mar 2009):
I love the B&W, very fitting. Thanks for sharing.
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Melissa Rieman gave props (26 Aug 2009):
Very informative story. Puts a different slant on Homelessness.
