Visitors to the Centralia American Legion on Wednesday had the chance to support those in need by participating in a fundraising sale, donating blood through an American Red Cross Blood drive, and by joining a conversation about causes and potential solutions to address homelessness in Centralia.
The event hosted by All Hours of Love, a Centralia nonprofit that runs a warming and cooling center for those without shelter. Co-founder Todd Glispie said that one of the organization’s main goals is to eventually serve as a full-fledged 24/7 homeless shelter. Glispie said that achieving this goal will require help from the community.
“It’s going to take our political leaders and our community as a whole to say that this is something that’s needed,” Glispie said. With the small number of people that showed up here today, more people needed to hear the impact on our hospital, the impact on the court system, because those things are not going away. The way our economy’s going, it’s just going to squeeze more people out. People who weren’t homeless before, six months from now or a year from now they may find themselves on the street.”
Representatives from a number of local organizations including the Centralia Regional Library, St. Mary’s Hospital, Centralia Police, and Judge Ericka Sanders talked about the ways they regularly interact with homeless individuals and opportunities they see to make conditions safer and services more accessible for those in need.
Glispie said that facilitating a conversation between parties committed to helping those in need will allow them to help more effectively by working together and understanding where the greatest need is and what they can provide.
“Just being aware of what’s going on around you. We have a lot of people who want to help but in essence the help that they’re trying to do is actually making things a little bit worse. Come to workshops like this, come to informational forums and get your questions asked. We had a lot of questions asked of the individuals who were here. That is one thing… you have to look at yourself and ask yourself, what more can I do to help better our community.”
More information on the All Hours of Love shelter can be found on the group’s Facebook page.
Centralia Police detective Mickey Jader talks about how police interact with the unhoused population. Photo by Austin Williams.
Judge Ericka Sanders answers questions about how homeless individuals can receive help navigating the court system. Photo by Austin Williams.
Lisa Guthrie with the Centralia Regional Library talks about the resources the library makes available to those in need, such as internet access. Photo by Austin Williams.
