Homeless People

HAGERSTOWN - Roughly 137 homeless adults and 73 homeless children live in Washington County at any given time, according to statistics from the Mayor's Task Force on Homelessness. Formed in October, the task force was created to learn more about the homeless situation in Hagerstown, Mayor Robert E. Bruchey II said. Its members will meet for the last time Wednesday to discuss their findings. "It will help us get a grip on who's homeless, why they're homeless and how long," he said.

"One of the toughest, hardest-working men I ever met lost one leg in Vietnam. In Vietnam, he worked hard for that leg to be gone. He came back, but he did not go through Veterans, he didn't do this or that. The man went into construction work. He worked hard, and he's still working hard, 20 years later, 30 years later, and he's got one leg. In construction, and not sitting back on a chair, either. I'm talking about climbing up the side of buildings, using his body to get what he had to get done, because he was no wimp.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Ten chronically homeless people with disabilities in Franklin and Fulton counties will get roofs over their heads and the services needed to keep them there with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., recently announced the $283,766 allocation from HUD's Continuum of Care program, which will provide a segment of the homeless population with housing for three years through the Franklin-Fulton Homeless Assistance Project.

ANNAPOLIS - In his push to broaden the state's hate crimes law, Sen. Alex X. Mooney on Wednesday showed his committee videotaped footage of youths beating up homeless people for sport. Mooney, R-Frederick/Washington, said a video known as "Bum Fights" is largely to blame for a rise in attacks on homeless people. Mooney objected two years ago when the state's hate crimes law was expanded to include sexual orientation. The law also prohibits crimes based on race, color, religious beliefs and national origin.

It was last Wednesday morning and the businesspeople in The Clarion meeting room had already started to fidget because the program had gone a half an hour longer than promised. Despite that, Hagerstown Mayor Robert Bruchey got up and told a very personal story. A man he did not name, but who he said was like a brother to him, had lost his home because of an addiction to alcohol. For seven months, the mayor said, he opened his house to the man and tried to help him, doing things such as making sure he got to work on time.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Martinsburg zoning board placed new restrictions on a center on Winchester Avenue that offers services to homeless people after local residents complained about transient people loitering on their property and acting in a threatening manner, beer cans lying around in the neighborhood and people "fornicating" behind houses. Residents said citizens are afraid of some people who congregate in the downtown area and the Winchester Avenue area is "peppered with For Sale signs" as families grow increasingly wary about living in the Winchester Avenue area.

HAGERSTOWN - Residents' complaints about loud noise and drinking have spurred railroad and city workers to begin tackling undergrowth at City Park, officials said. The City of Hagerstown and employees of the Norfolk Southern Corp. railroad line have cleared shrubs and weeds from a northern part of the park near Hager House, Parks and Recreation Superintendent Junior Mason said Wednesday. According to police, homeless people often sought shelter in the area. "We have found a lot of trash and bottles and blankets, whether old or new, I don't know," Mason said.

In yesterday's editions of The Herald-Mail newspapers, reporter Karen Hanna wrote about Claire Seibert, a volunteer for the local homeless shelter. Seibert is one of a number who volunteer at the facility run by REACH, which stands for Religious Effort to Assist and Care for the Homeless. Seibert is a part of a 10-part series The Herald-Mail is running on those people who give their time and resources to make things better for the less fortunate in this area. In Seibert's case, the time she has spent at the shelter over the last four or five years has meant a great deal, even to those who haven't been helped directly.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded two grants totaling more than $1 million for programs serving the homeless in Franklin and Fulton counties. Maranatha, a faith-based charity that runs a transitional housing program, will receive $82,390 over the next three years, according to Executive Director Natalie Newcomer. The Franklin County Human Services Division will receive $279,803 over a three-year period to provide permanent housing to the chronically mentally ill, according to Human Services Program Planner Alecha Sanbower.

tarar@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - One woman left her home to escape abuse. A single mother with two children couldn't afford to pay the rent after her boyfriend quit his job. Another woman and her daughter had no place else to turn after they no longer were able to stay with a friend. Laura Barger, director of social services for The Salvation Army, said those were just some of the reasons the homeless turn to the organization's shelter for help.