TRAVERSE CITY -- Three years ago, when times were better, Eugene Fox held a job as a valet in Atlantic City, N.J.
Things changed when Fox was diagnosed with a chronic breathing condition that often leaves him winded. Work became difficult.
A move to Florida -- to help his breathing, doctors advised -- didn't immediately yield a job, and he believes his herniated disk and two heart attacks that followed virtually relegated his name to the bottom of employers' candidate lists.
Fox has been a Goodwill Inn resident for about seven months. The Garfield Township shelter is experiencing record numbers of area homeless seeking a place to sleep, and triple-digit increases in the number of people requesting help for food and other basic needs.
For people like Fox, the inn means survival.
"No one wants to hire someone at 58 years old and with bad health," said Fox, who now receives Social Security disability insurance with the help of Goodwill staff. "I wouldn't have been able to do it on my own."
These are unprecedented times for the shelter, which ordered more beds and doubled capacity in rooms to accommodate high demand.
A few weeks ago, 94 people needed a bed the same night, the highest-ever number, staff reported. Goodwill spokeswoman Ruth Blick said recent averages are between 87 and 94 people a night. Eighty is typical.
The state's continued economic downturn isn't likely to ease soon, and evidence of its hardship is displayed regularly in the headlines -- from news of government bailouts, the latest a proposed 11th-hour rescue of the Detroit auto companies, to spikes in foreclosure and unemployment rates.
The troubled economy hasn't necessarily contributed to the increased requests for shelter, since people often seek lodging elsewhere before turning to the Goodwill Inn, said Ken Homa, director of housing services. But it is reflected in other ways.
For instance:
-- Just 17 percent of the adults who stayed at the Goodwill Inn last month were employed, compared to 42 percent a year ago.
-- Of them, only 6 percent held full-time jobs, down from 24 percent in 2007.
-- In October, 473 people received assistance with food and other needs. In July, the number was 191. In October 2007, it was 128.
The numbers are staggering, Homa said.
"It just tells me that people are living on the edge," he said. "We haven't really hit the cold weather yet."
The shelter's basement pantry shelves are almost bare, and a food drive continues today and Sunday. Upstairs, where residents sleep, every possible bed is bunked and more mattresses are on the way, Homa said. Boxes of pillows arrived this week.
The demand could ebb slightly now that the Safe Harbor shelter system has opened for the season. A partnership with about 20 local churches, Safe Harbor serves meals and offers lodging from late fall to early spring.
Churches rotate as hosts. The program will be at Grace Episcopal Church in Traverse City from today through Nov. 21.
An average of 13 people have stayed each night, said Jeff Lewis, a Safe Harbor volunteer.
"We have not seen a large increase in new faces yet," Lewis said. "As it gets colder and people find out about the shelter, I think we may."
The average length of a Goodwill Inn stay climbed from 31 to 36 days by October, Homa said, and waiting lists are growing for state housing assistance.
Fox, a resident, is on the list. He found an apartment in the area, recently remodeled and inspected, and hoped to move in this week. But, he said, it might take longer.
"They do a beautiful job here, they do great, but it still is a shelter," he said. "I want to be on my own."
How to help
Donations of canned and boxed foods, as well as other basic needs items, are being accepted today and Sunday as part of a Goodwill Inn food drive.
Needed items include canned meat and fruit, pancake mix, juice, soups and stews, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti sauce, cereal and peanut butter. Diapers, personal care items and gift cards or cash also will be accepted.
Items can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday at Brown Lumber on South Airport Road in Traverse City.
Print this story
E-mail this story
