'It’s hard all year round': Rochester partners help people experiencing homelessness - Post Bulletin

ROCHESTER — Jolene Burchard is trying to “move on” as she wonders if her income is enough to pay her utility bills.

She lives on social security and waits to see whether the energy aid will come in time.

“I wanted to see if I could help with either my utilities or my rent this month because I’m on Social Security and I’m only getting $931,” Burchard said. “And I’m way behind on both RPU and Minnesota Energy, so I won’t be able to cover everything when I get my Social Security.”

“It’s difficult all year round. I’ve been homeless a few times,” Burchard said. “My life was a mess back then. I’m trying to do what I can now, you know, hold it together.

Burchard was one of the attendees at Friday’s Project Community Connect event at John Marshall High School. Organized by Olmsted County’s Homeless Community Network, the event involved volunteers and nonprofit charities in providing some nontraditional, yet essential, services to people who are homeless or in financial need.

For free, people could eat lunch, get a haircut, get photo ID, get the flu shot, get help with legal advice, and get help finding a job.

In addition, there was tax assistance and help in defending against mortgage foreclosures.

Buchard lives with health problems and receives dialysis treatment. On Friday, she visited the self-care booths, which included a foot massage, manicure, and haircut. She shared a laugh with the Winona State University student when she learned she could have both baby blue and sparkly nail polish.

“I have to keep going because I’m fighting for my life every day,” Burchard said. “And I try to stay positive. This stuff won’t beat me.”

Adrienne Gathwright is grateful that her prayers are being answered, such as a new pair of boots to wear, a home for two years and help for others experiencing homelessness. The free resources at the event are things to praise the Lord for, Gathwright said.

“It also helps me, when I get home, I can get on my knees and say, ‘Lord, thank you.’ He heard our prayers. I wasn’t the only one, I know that,” Gathwright said.

A person tries on shoes during Project Community Connect on Friday, January 27, 2023 at John Marshall High School in Rochester. The event was designed to provide services and resources for people affected by homelessness or struggling to make ends meet.

She also sought psychiatric care, such as at the Fernbrook Family Center, after realizing she was “outraged” and often cried at the loss of her family.

“I lost my whole family except for a sister and a brother. And I’m all alone here in Rochester. I’m not lonely and I’m not alone because Jesus is in spirit and flesh,” Gathwright said. “I miss her so much, I really do.”

“[I get information about]mental health care to visit me at home instead of having to come out all the time because I have plantar fasciitis in my feet, it hurts if I walk too long,” said Gathwright. “I have a chair that I push but didn’t bring because of the snow. They don’t really clear the snow and ice off the sidewalks and stuff like that.”

With a backpack, a tote bag and a colorful skateboard, Colin Johnson concentrated on looking for an apartment. “I’ll probably start looking for an apartment because I’m going to lose my apartment in six days,” he said. He has lived in GRH Housing for about seven months.

“This is more like a house, so we only have bedrooms and some of them are single rooms and some of them are shared rooms,” Johnson described. “I’m in one of the shared rooms and my roommate drives me crazy every day.”

Johnson and his roommate have to move because of their struggles. He is associated with The Landing MN and other properties he knows in the area. But with the demands and waitlists, Johnson said “it sounds like it’s pretty much just waiting until I’m actually on the road.” He hopes “[Housing]will work out.” If not, I know my way around the street.”

Before that, he camped in a tent for a year and a half. Winter days “can be cold. Push a shopping cart with bedding,” Johnson said. He sometimes uses The Landing hand sanitizer to start a fire in his tent.

“Hopefully I just get a job and don’t have to worry about any of that. Just get a job and get back to ‘normal’ life,” Johnson said. “But I still have a driver’s license, which should help get me a job.”

With adults, youth, and children affected by homelessness or struggling to make ends meet, Project Community Connect also brings people together for the Point-in-Time Census, which is a nationwide census of people who experience homelessness. Amber Fiedler, an assistant professor at Winona State University and a member of the Homeless Community Network of Olmsted County, said before the event began in 2009 that they would be counting people under bridges, in parks and on the street.

“It’s hard to talk to people at midnight when they’re trying to sleep and it’s cold,” Fiedler said. “Between the count of people here and the count in the shelters, we think we’re accessing almost everyone.”

The nationwide census will include people who are couchsurfing for the first time this year, and “there are a lot of people who are actually doing it,” Fiedler said.

While the event was smaller for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, people came for work, shelter and food. The partnerships help people who are struggling and help providers and nursing students learn more about people’s experiences of homelessness.

“These nurses will probably work in acute care, they will work in a hospital, but they will know where resources are,” Fiedler said. “They’ll be able to talk to their patients about it, ‘I know where to look for accommodation, or let’s contact legal to see if they can find money to stay.’ My students at the hospital will have a good sense of how to find resources for their patients who are struggling.”