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The problem seems to be, though, that a number of the homeless people Catholic deacon Fred Bandas talks about aren’t going anywhere - at least on this Earth.
And that’s why councilmen, police and neighborhood advocates point to the agency Bandas was instrumental in getting off the ground - Martha’s Kitchen - as central to the past and key to the future of Avenue G.
Bandas made his remarks in 1992, seven years after the kitchen served its first meal to the down-and-out.
The building had been donated to the Catholic church. In subsequent years vacated buildings in the area were purchased or donated and transformed to include a food warehouse, men’s and women’s dorms, an intake office, a store and the kitchen.
When Martha’s Kitchen opened on Thanksgiving Day in 1985 this was its credo: No questions of those being served.
Bandas reaffirmed that guiding rule in 1992, the year he received the Frank W. Mayborn Humanitarian Award.
The shelter is now run by a board of directors, consisting of 10 local people who meet four times a year.
“The executive director and I meet with the chief (of police) once a year,” said Ray Severn, who is chairman of the board at Martha’s Kitchen. He said he had other business interests in the area, but refused to say what they were because he said they have nothing to do with the shelter. “There is only one paid employee. All other positions are filled by residents of the shelter,” Severn said.
Residents at Martha’s Kitchen who talked to the Telegram hesitated to give their names because they feared being kicked out. They did talk, however, when it was agreed they would not be named.
“Just a bed and meals and medical treatment one night a week,” said one resident of Martha’s Kitchen.
“When people are homeless they are at a low point in their life - they need people to help them and guide them. Martha’s doesn’t supply that,” said the resident who was newly out of jail.
“They say they offer rides to try and get work, but they don’t,” he said.
“Then you have the loonies that are homeless themselves running the place. I want to get out of here but I can’t. I’m stuck. I am living on a street with more bars than pretty women and fighting an addiction. I fight that every day - with no help,” he said grimly.
“I don’t know how you get on the good side of the building, but if you find out make sure you come back and tell me,” he said, now smiling. He was referring to the area where long-time shelter residents reside. That side of the shelter has creature comforts like food being allowed in the room, cable television and curtains on doorways for privacy.
The shelter’s office is open 24 hours a day and meals are served three times a day. No one is turned away, Severn said.
“We get their names and identification. We don’t do criminal checks. If they are convicted criminals on the run, we just wouldn’t know that, nor are we for that. We are here to give them a bed,” he said. “If the police ask about anyone, we tell them. We work with the police here.”
He described the location as being like a campus.
“The old Scott & White hospital building was purchased with a grant and we were able to offer housing to the homeless,” he said. “Now we are known all over the country. We have people that come from all over the country and even from overseas.
“Many people that stay at the shelter are here for the VA too,” Severn said, “They come from all over for treatment and while they wait they stay at the shelter. Some have come and never left.”
Ralph Evangelous, former police chief in Temple, is just one of the people who indicated Martha’s Kitchen is a reason there are problems on Avenue G.
“Anytime you have a focus point for a homeless population there, that and embedded drug activity, it kind of goes hand-in-hand,” he said.
Severn counters that way of thinking, saying that the buildings were empty before the shelter was established. That’s a more likely draw for the homeless and the criminal element, he said.
“You don’t want to blame it on the homeless situation, but that’s part of the mix for sure - that along with poverty - it clearly has an impact,” Evangelous said.
“Poverty is always an issue no matter where you are,” he said. “Poverty breeds criminal activity. Anything you can do to reverse that trend can only have positive results.”
Sarge, a worker at the shelter who wouldn’t reveal his full name, said stealing is a problem but he tries to ensure that rules are followed.
“They don’t have much when they come in, so a pair of good shoes becomes more important to them,” he said.
Patsy Luna, District 2 council member, said during a fall 2007 interview she believes the city bears some of the blame.
“When you have that many folks that are less advantaged than others, trouble follows,” she said of Martha’s Kitchen. “People really got upset when it moved next to them. It was not a welcome neighbor.”
She said the city could have done more to keep order.
“I hate to point the finger to the city’s code enforcement, but you can just see all the violations when you go down there,” she said. “I know they’ve been working to improve that, but with absentee owners, it’s very difficult to get compliance.”
It’s that issue that concerns Police Cpl. Chuck Borgeson as well.
“The people lay blame on Martha’s Kitchen but the area is very transient. The owners of the homes don’t live there so the renters come and go too,” he said.Judy Morales, executive director of the Temple HELP Center, which helps people with emergencies, education and other needs, has lived near the Avenue G area for more than 25 years.
“It was vibrant with a lot of businesses and different kind of stores,” she said of the early years.
She’s among those who believe Martha’s Kitchen contributed to the decline.
“There’s no doubt in my mind,” she said.
“A program to provide emergency shelter is definitely needed, but it is sort of ‘self-contained’ in that there’s no professional people in there to provide needed counseling and services … for people who are there to get back on their feet,” Ms. Morales said.
“Although it provides a good shelter, it has still allowed people who come in this area that are probably not desirable. It has driven a lot of the businesses away.”
Police have been working with community groups and the city to assist the shelter’s residents by offering job fairs. They’ve also organized neighborhood cleanups.
Why are police doing this? Because the shelter isn’t, Borgeson said.
“Well-meaning, good-hearted souls do not help residents by giving them just a roof over their head,” said a former shelter resident who moved next door to Humble House.
Since leaving the shelter, he has started a new life and is now contributing to society. Now involved in Humble House ministries he calls himself a “lifer” - meaning he will live the life he is living now and assist those who need help. He remembers too clearly what it was like to need help. Help was just never offered, he said.
Another tenant still at Martha’s Kitchen said, “I moved here from up north because Martha’s Kitchen never turns anyone away - everybody knows that. I have met folks from all over America that have heard about Martha’s Kitchen.
“Most have done time (in jail). You hear about Martha’s Kitchen in jail because they never say no. Most shelters I tried to get in wouldn’t take me because of my record, that’s why I am here.”
He served 10 years in jail for dealing drugs, then moved to an area where drug arrests are not uncommon.
“I moved to get away from the area that got me in trouble in the first place - to try and turn my life around. I haven’t had any luck yet, but I won’t be staying at Martha’s Kitchen,” he said.
While he is being provided with a bed and three meals a day, he said he is having trouble finding work to establish himself in his new community.
Humble House set up right next door to Martha’s Kitchen men’s dorm in the last year. The people who run the place say they rehabilitate men to become acceptable members of society.
The residents at Humble House are not proud of their past but are proud of what they have become and where they are going in their lives, said Chris Moore, director of Humble House.
Often homeless, these men are offered shelter and guidance, addiction help and a family atmosphere.
Churches Touching Lives is another group that has set up to help residents, with prostitution being a major area of concern.
“It wasn’t the drinking and drugs so much as the prostitution,” said Cynthia Russell, Churches Touching Lives director. “You could tell who the prostitutes were, sashaying up and down the street … The prostitutes were wandering up and down the area applying their trade right in broad daylight.”
With volunteers from more than 30 churches in the area, Churches Touching Lives hands out food and clothing, and assists residents in paying utility bills.
“We have a lot of street people that have no place to live at all,” Ms. Russell said. “We try to help them as much as we can.”
But the organization also tries to offer encouragement and guidance to those on their doorstep.
“We’re trying to help the whole person. We’re not just feeding their bellies,” Ms. Russell said.
Occasionally, prostitutes come to the center for food.
“They’re nice people,” Ms. Russell said. “I feel for them sometimes. I really hurt for them. That’s all they’ve got. All we can do is try to help them.”
Severn said Martha’s Kitchen also offers more than room and meals.
“We have a number of agencies that will help our residents if they ask,” he said, mentioning HELP Center and United Way.
Borgeson, the Temple police officer, said he believes Martha’s Kitchen residents deserve job training, their own housing and a chance for guidance.
“They need a GED. They need training, then they need to move on,” he said.
Robert Stinson and Laura Frase contributed to this article
Thursday: Investors, police and assistance groups are working to improve the Avenue G area.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth in a five-part series on the decline of the Avenue G area and efforts that are under way to rehabilitate it.