By Jordyn Davis | For the Birmingham Times
When it comes to forming partnerships to build a better Birmingham look no further than The Rev. Debra Blaylock, executive director of community outreach for Faith Chapel Cares.
Blaylock has collaborated with the City of Birmingham’s Home For All microshelter pilot program, an initiative designed to provide safe, dignified shelter and wraparound services for several of the city’s unhoused residents.
The program aims to provide those who are in need of a home with the economical Pallet Shelters—a space that fits a bed and storage. The program will also provide meals, laundry and case management.
“We’re primarily looking for that group that’s falling through the cracks for no other reason than that they cannot stay in congregant housing. The pallet homes will give that individual a place where they can feel safe, be warm and will be fed,” Blaylock said. “They’ll also have access to an assigned case worker . . . Our ultimate goal is being able to place them in permanent housing of their own.”
Community Partners
Birmingham has a contract paying Faith Chapel Care Center nearly $1.2 million to host and run services for 15 of the homes on their property at 921 Second Ave. North.
The city hopes the micro-shelters and support services will address the challenges created by the intersection of poverty, mental illness, addiction, and homelessness.
“This will be life-changing for many of our unhoused residents,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin. “These partners have a proven record of supporting unhoused residents and helping them get on a path toward sustainable homeownership. Everyone deserves a safe place to sleep and a safe place to call their own. We are committed to playing a part in helping to make that happen for those who need it.”
Faith Chapel got involved after Birmingham did extensive research in other cities and then asked for interested community partners to submit a proposal for one of the two proposed sites, said Blaylock, who led a team that prepared a detailed plan and became one of the organizations selected for the pilot.
The budget “covered a 12-month period for programs and services to cover operational costs only” after the city purchased the pallet homes and paid for them, said the executive director.
With Home For All, projected to open doors by the end of April and fully operated by Faith Chapel Care Center, Blaylock and her team plan to assist as many applicants as possible. Their primary focus is to decrease the number of people living on the street.
According to Firehouse Ministries, 607 people in Birmingham identify as chronically homeless, meaning they rely on the streets as their shelter for the night.
Anne Rygiel, an executive director for the mid-Alabama chapter of the American Red Cross, who joined with the Faith Chapel team to prepare the proposal for the city, said Home For All will gradually work towards decreasing this number.
“Our intention is not to pull people out of housing or shelters or anything like this. This is literally for street homeless individuals. And that’s where we’re going to see that needle being moved,” Rygiel said.
“That’s where we bring in those supportive services, when we bring in the community, when we offer the safety and dignity of people having their own micro shelter, and making sure we never lose the end goal of helping them find permanent supportive housing.”
A Lending Hand
Asked how she manages a multi-year project, Blaylock chuckled and said, “You pray a lot.”
“Without prayer, none of this would’ve been successful. I have a prayer confession that I wrote when we started this project. [My team] recites this prayer confession because we realize if this is going to be successful, especially within a 12-month period, God has to help us,” Blaylock said.
The prayer confession calls for those with a passion to help serve the community and get involved with Home For All, along with prayers that those who enter the program have a calling to better their lives.
Blaylock remembers distinctly how God spoke to her pastor, Michael K. Moore of Faith Chapel, and called him to do more for the community. And with continued support, her plan came to fruition. After successfully operating the care center while simultaneously making partnerships for Home For All, she was able to connect with the homeless and hear their stories on a deeper level and used those conversations to diagnose the real issue: lack of resources and understanding. Blaylock believes most people think the homeless are the ones to blame for their situation, That is far from the case, she said.
“Once you open up and you start seeing the need and get to know the people and realize they were just people who ran up on a hard time or had a death in the family and didn’t adjust to it really well, or they’re dealing with some mental issues and the family doesn’t know how to navigate. So you started meeting all these real people. Your heart just goes out for them,” Blaylock said.
“[Our outreach team] is primarily looking for that group that’s falling through the cracks for no other reason than that they cannot stay in congregant housing. The palette homes will give that individual a place where they can feel safe, be warm and will be fed. They’ll also have access to an assigned case worker. Hopefully, they’ll be able to sit down and build trust with them. Our ultimate goal is being able to place them in permanent housing of their own,” Blaylock said.
