Group shows local homeless not 'Helpless'

Russel Giles was a homeless man who lived on the streets of West Philadelphia. Jeff Harvey was a music producer who lived 30 miles away in Montgomery County. The two men had nothing in common until they met one night outside the Chestnut Cabaret. They became friends that night during a long conversation in the theater's parking lot, and after many subsequent visits to West Philadelphia, Harvey asked Giles to leave the streets and move in with him. Harvey said he now plans to make a similar offer to other homeless men in University City and has founded a group called "Homeless Not Helpless." The new non-profit organization hopes to establish a group home in Montgomery County for twelve men by sometime this winter. He said the men, who may include "victims of circumstance" and recovering drug addicts, will live in the home for one year as part of a "recovery program" designed to help them "gain a greater sense of self-worth, develop a tremendous work ethic, and restore their dignity." The house will be located outside Philadelphia, he said, because homeless need to leave "their environment and all the temptations" and spend time "in a calmer atmosphere, where there are trees." After a year, he said, the men will move to a house closer to Philadelphia, where they will spend another year living together and helping each other while they return to society as "productive members of the community." In order to qualify for federal funding and various loans, Harvey said Homeless Not Helpless is in the process of incorporating and seeking non-profit status. He said the program would likely cost at least $160,000 for the first year. Harvey said he is also organizing an album containing original music by several area artists, possibly including the Hooters, which would benefit all homeless advocacy groups in the city. Until then, Harvey said he will continue spending his own money to supply area homeless with food, toiletries and clean laundry once a week. He said he also meets regularly with some of them to discuss their behavior on the streets, hear their experiences and get their feedback. But Harvey said he knows providing housing for twelve homeless men will not solve the problems of all the city's homeless, which he said number about 35,000, because many homeless would remain in University City once the home's spaces are filled. To broaden the influence of Homeless Not Helpless, he said he is beginning to meet with local business owners to try to ease tensions between them and the homeless people, who often panhandle in front of stores. One suggestion he will pitch to the owners is an arrangement under which homeless men would agree to stay away from storefronts in exchange for free food or several hours of paid work each week. He said the men would sign contracts and wear identification cards to prove they are part of the program. Harvey, who said he has been "touched for years by the homeless epidemic," said he had no plans to form Homeless Not Helpless until he met some of the men Giles had lived with during his two years on the street. Although Giles adjusted quickly to life off the street, Harvey said Giles "felt real anxiety about the guys he had left behind." The two men began returning to Philadelphia with sandwiches for the homeless men, and in the process, Harvey said he realized that what he had done for Giles could be done for others. "I started meeting some really magnificent human beings out there," Harvey said. "They weren't all drug addicts and they weren't all what we think are simply losers. A lot of them just had economic problems." Sam Frisby, who said he has been homeless off and on for several years, said he thinks the program will help both the homeless people and their image. "We're not just out here pandhandling," he said. "We have a goal now, and that's the difference."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.