The other neighbors of Plano
Collin County homeless census used to better serve needs, provide federal funding
Kevin Cummings
Staff writer, Plano Star Courier
As night fell on Thursday, the rain continued in a steady rhythm and the temperature seemed to steadily drop, while dozens of residents gathered at the Plano Municipal Center to participate in the annual homeless census, which was first organized in 2004 by the Collin County Homeless Coalition.
In the warmth of the City Hall’s council chambers, volunteers were divided into groups and given “care packages” to hand out to any homeless residents they encountered while conducting the census. Jesse Madsen, Plano community services analyst, reminded people that the face of homelessness in the city is not always what one imagines, and that many of the homeless volunteers might encounter throughout the night could look as if they’re just parked in an empty parking lot or walking down the street.
“I know there’s so many reasons why people become homeless, a lot of times mental illness or other hard luck cases,” said Kory Knott, pastor of Custer Road United Methodist Church and leader of census group 3. “I think it reminds me that some of my neighbors are homeless and they have names.”
Before dispersing across the city, members of Plano PD’s Neighborhood Patrol Unit, who were later paired with census groups, gave safety instructions. The most important one, according to Officer Kanvin Ravin, being to always be genuine to the people you encounter.
Volunteers were told by Madsen that the homeless census is used by the city to help measure trends in the homeless population, to quantify the needs of those on the streets in an effort to better serve them, and as a requirement to receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding. However, as members of Knott’s group headed out into the night, the census seemed to be more about helping fellow Plano neighbors.
After searching with flashlights through Willow Creek Park, near the intersection of Jupiter Road and Park Blvd., group 3 found only an empty sleeping bag under a low-hanging bridge that crossed a creek clogged with littler that had been carried downstream by the rain. The desire find someone in need to help, seemed trumped by the fact that finding no one so far meant that those who frequently call the park home for the night may have found shelter in a warmer, dryer place.
“I think there’s a part of you ... there’s that common humanity, but I think there’s also a part of you that hopes if you were in that situation, there would be somebody that would be looking for you, so I think for me the desire to hope that ... I would be cared for if I fell on hard times, it kind of drives me to want to do that for others,” Knott said.
Officer Asa Morse, led group 3 throughout the area that he patrols almost every day. Around 10:44 p.m., the group found a man sleeping in the corner of a small strip mall storefront in the 1800 block of K Ave. The temperature was around 40 degrees with a wind-chill of 35 degrees. The man identified himself as Ronald, 58, who had been homeless for the last three or four years. He said he was trying to get back on his feet, but disabilities and no family around to care for him made it difficult. Ronald was given one of the care packages, which included some food, clothing and simple hygiene items.
“All I can do is just keep trying,” Ronald said.
Not far down the road, at 11:18, the group found Adam, 38, shivering with only a light jacked jeans on in the back alley of a strip center near the intersection on Park Blvd. and K Ave. Adam said he had only been in the area for about a month and had been homeless at least since then. However, he did have a job working for a moving company, he said. As Adam sat shivering, Knott took off his jacket and placed it around Adam’s shoulders. Unable to be taken to The Samaritan Inn, Collin County’s only homeless shelter, in McKinney due to having work in the morning, Knott offered to pay for a hotel for the night for Adam.
“It just breaks my heart to see a guy shiver like that,” Knott said. “I live in west Plano, in a very affluent neighborhood, and yet these guys are in the same town as I am.”
Group 3 and the other groups returned to the Plano Municipal Center at midnight. Madsen said that the search had been successful and had been one of the better turnouts of volunteers in recent years. Information taken during the census will be compiled with others that were taking place simultaneously in Frisco and McKinney, and given to the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance. However, the overall data seemed less to matter to Knott and the other members of group 3 than the fact that a difference, if even for the night, had been made in the lives of two people.
“I’ve got a pretty clear mandate in my faith, Jesus talked a lot about the poor, and so I just really have a heart,” Knott said. “There’s a lot of stuff we can disagree on in life and in religion, but there’s pretty much universal that the poor need to be cared for.”