Homeless People

Staci M. Watkins was found dead a week ago in a patch of woods along U.S. 1 in Laurel, not far from the Turf Motel, where she'd been living for a few weeks. She and her boyfriend, Donald "Butch" McCulley, were managing to keep the room on the first floor and avoid the more raw existence of many fellow homeless people who stay close to the old highway - some living in their cars, some under highway overpasses, some in tents in the woods behind the used-car lots, industrial buildings and fast-food restaurants.

In his 72 years, Ernest Hawkes has slept in a wide variety of places – military barracks in Vietnam, apartments in Baltimore and New York, homeless shelters. On Saturday evening, Hawkes stretched out on a flattened cardboard box in front of Baltimore's City Hall, resting his head on a black duffel bag. He propped a handwritten sign against a tote bag: "Homeless but not helpless. " "I woke up one morning and I was totally homeless," said Hawkes, explaining that he was evicted from an apartment complex for seniors three years ago after he had a dispute with the management.

Although Howard County remains one of the most affluent counties in the nation and has the lowest unemployment rate in the state, the number of homeless people has increased over the past year, prompting a push to increase assistance through the county's plan to end homelessness. County Executive Ken Ulman included $366,500 in his $899 million budget to fight homelessness. If approved, this year would be the first in which the county has set aside money for the plan, which targets those who are chronically homeless — often because of a mental illness or substance-abuse problem — and others who are homeless because of job loss or other unforeseen circumstances.

Tucked behind trees off a street in Glen Burnie are about a dozen mostly makeshift tents and a small trailer, forming a small community of homeless people who have been there off and on for several years. Now, Anne Arundel County has ordered the homeless to leave the site by April 3 — the second time in about a year there's been a push to clear the site. County agencies and nonprofit organizations — the Department of Social Services and the nonprofit Arundel House of Hope among them — are trying to connect the homeless people there with shelters and other services.

Advocates for the rehabilitation of people with criminal records will rally and lobby in Annapolis Thursday for measures that would help released inmates avoid homelessness and assimilate back into their communities. Two nonprofits, the Job Opportunities Task Force and Healthcare for the Homeless, will mobilize people to join an "I'm for Second Chances" march from Stanton Community Center to Lawyers Mall starting at 9:30 a.m. After a rally at the mall, advocates will spend the day holding workshops, testifying at hearings and visiting lawmakers' office to lobby for legislation aimed at helping ex-offenders reintegrate into society.

Dear Editor: I wanted to express my sincere sympathy to the families and friends of Tameka and George, who died due to exposure and/or carbon monoxide poisoning while sleeping in a tent in Aberdeen. The fact that this could happen in an affluent area such as Harford County may seem mind-boggling; but, in reality, the sad truth is that the homeless population is growing everywhere. I was very happy to see in Mr. Vought's editorial he addressed these two tragic deaths. And he's right; indeed some homeless people do not want assistance.

A group of 50 to 60 people gathered in downtown Aberdeen Thursday evening to remember two homeless people who died last Friday after they were found unresponsive in a tent at an encampment in the woods on the city's east side. Standing near the corner of Franklin and Parke streets near the library, city hall and festival park, the group included members of the clergy, advocates for the homeless and mental health, families and friends of the two dead people and other homeless people.

Baltimore and Harford counties are conducting their annual surveys of the homeless population this week, gathering information about how many people lack a permanent place to stay and why. The one-day census is also intended to help service agencies learn where there are gaps in assistance programs. The federal government requires a count, known as a point-in-time census, during the last 10 days of January from all local governments at least every other year. Most conduct the survey annually.

For a few hours after school, Ryan Johnson is just like most 16-year-olds. He lounges on the couch with his favorite Xbox game or checks his Facebook page. But then reality sets in. He decamps from his cousins' house for the Howard County cold-weather shelter. Dinner is a meal with his father and 20 other homeless people. He goes to bed early, on a green plastic mat next to strangers, who also have no other place to go in one of the state's wealthiest counties. "It has been really hard," said Ryan, a junior at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia.

Brigades of parishioners at St. Joseph's Monastery in Southwest Baltimore have cataloged their roles in the mission on a spreadsheet. Each team is tasked with convincing different neighbors that the only offer for the congregation's empty school building — from a group that helps homeless people get back onto their feet — will benefit the community at large. "We're trying to do away with any misperceptions and lack of knowledge," said Mary Slicher, executive director of Project PLASE (People Lacking Ample Shelter and Employment)