by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
There are more than 100 homeless people living in or next to Sartell, according to Harry Fleegel, executive director of the St. Cloud-based “Homeless Helping Homeless,” a non-profit organization.
Based on Fleegel’s research and many personal connections, there are at any given time about five to 10 people living outside in tents, even in the coldest weather, in or near Sartell. Many others sleep in the homes (often on couches) of relatives, friends or acquaintances. During the day, those people tend to wander, seeking help in various places, Fleegel said.
In the greater St. Cloud area, including Sartell, there are more than 1,000 homeless people in all categories of homelessness, according to Fleegel. He enumerated those categories: those who stay in tents (about 30 to 50 people) even in brutal winter cold with the help of fishhouse-type heaters; those who sleep in vehicles; those who sleep under bridges, in stair wells, abandoned buildings and even outhouses; and those who stay temporarily in the houses or apartments of relatives, friends or acquaintances. Those who are homeless include lone individuals, married couples, unmarried couples and children. Fortunately, children and their families receive top priority with help agencies for indoor warm shelters – churches, temporary apartments and so forth. But warm or not, they are “homeless,” in a limbo of temporary status.
Eyes opened wide
Fleegel, 72, was born and raised in St. Cloud but worked for 30 years in the Twin Cities where he was a small-business consultant for immigrant communities in Plymouth. He has a master’s degree in business administration. His wife, Mary, with a master’s degree in autism, was a special-education teacher for the Anoka-Hennepin County School District.
When they both retired, they became a bit restless and decided three years ago to move to St. Cloud where they have many relatives, including Harry’s sister, Mary Fasen of Sartell.
In St. Cloud, they were eager to volunteer to help the less fortunate, and their eyes soon opened wide to some heartbreaking realities. A year ago, after they began volunteering at Place of Hope in north St. Cloud, they met many homeless people while doing intake interviews and coordination work for “Church of the Week,” a program in which churches take turns providing shelter for homeless people.
What the Fleegels soon discovered is that the homeless are brimming with good ideas but – being homeless, destitute and disconnected – most often have no way to implement them. Contrary to stereotypes, said Harry Fleegel, the homeless do in fact go out of their way to help other homeless people. In countless discussions, the Fleegels listened and even began meeting sessions at the St. Cloud Public Library to hear a wealth of ideas.
The following resulted from the brain-storm sessions:
One: A driver’s program began to help homeless people get from one place to another, such as the Salvation Army on St. Cloud’s east side and Place of Hope on St. Cloud’s north side. Bus schedules were not always conducive to the right time frames. Fleegel and homeless individuals started a ride program since some of them had vehicles, even if they happened to be old “jalopies.” Soon, church organizations agreed to provide gas cards to the volunteer homeless drivers.
Two: A furniture and furnishings program began for homeless people who do finally get an apartment but have literally nothing to put in it, not even a bed. When most homeless do get an apartment via county assistance, the county takes money for a deposit and a first month’s rent, Fleegel said. That leaves nothing but four walls and maybe carpet on the floor. With help from churches, once again, the word went out for spare furniture and furnishings (cookware, etc.), and loads of stuff was donated. Homeless people did a lot of “muscle work,” loading and unloading heavy items, delivering to the new apartments of the formerly homeless or taking it to storage. The homeless came up with the idea, and the homeless manage the program.
Three: Some homeless people stand near streets with signs that say, in one way or another, “Help!” Quite often, Fleegel said, motorists roll down windows and yell, “Why don’t you just go get a job?!” In discussions with those in need, Fleegel quickly discovered the vast majority of them do, in fact, want to work, even at temporary jobs. The problems? No permanent address, no phone, no car. Employers rarely hire such “ghosts.” Fleegel searched online and found a woman farmer in Clearwater who needed help with picking weeds. He then went to the Salvation Army and found four guys eager to do the work. The woman was so impressed by their work, she asked for more. There were soon 12 weed-pickers, then 22. During “Project Connect,” a program at the St. Cloud Civic Center, 75 people signed up to do similar temporary jobs.
“It is just not true that homeless people do not want to work,” Fleegel said. “Yes, in some cases there are mental disabilities or physical disabilities, but in most cases there are not. The real problem is finding enough temporary jobs and getting the homeless phones so employers can call them.”
The biggest hurdle to homelessness in the St. Cloud area, Fleegel said, is the lack of apartments or apartments that people simply cannot afford as apartment rent prices keep soaring and so many workers keep receiving stagnant wages, leading to paycheck-to-paycheck survival with homelessness just around the corner for some people, including adults with children. A car break-down can pitch some headlong into homeless status: fix the car to get to a job and don’t pay the rent, thus eviction can occur as the apartment residents get further behind financially. Divorce is also a breaker, Fleegel said, with suddenly only one income, not two, to depend upon.
Other factors almost certain to lead to homelessness, he said, are expensive illnesses or injuries.
“There is no single solution to the problem,” Fleegel said. “One thing is certain. The homeless come from every race, every religion, every age group, as young as 6 up into the 80s. And there are all levels of disabilities and mental and emotional problems, but the majority of them are just like anybody else – you or me. Sometimes homelessness is just a matter of one bad decision or a case of hard luck.”
How to help people who happen to be homeless?
Fleegel recommends donating or volunteering generously to local homeless shelters, the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Place of Hope, Homeless Healing Homeless, churches and other organizations.
He also recommends people should open their minds and hearts to people in desperate need, including the “panhandlers” seeking help streetside.
“Some may be scammers, maybe one in 10,” he said. “But most are not. I know often they chip in money they receive from motorists and then spend that money for them and others to share a hotel room to sleep in a warm place. People should not ridicule them.”
One of Fleegel’s instructive stories is about the man who was once homeless and lives in this area. Despite current financial difficulties, he spends his own money on food and then cooks meals he brings to homeless people living in tents in the woods. His own cupboards at home, Fleegel said, contain a lot of packages of Ramen noodles, for himself. That, Fleegel said, is a classic example of how the homeless (and formerly homeless) make personal sacrifices to help others who are homeless.
The optimistic news, Fleegel emphasized, is there is generally very good ongoing support for the homeless from the people, businesses and agencies in the St. Cloud area.
To donate to Homeless Helping Homeless, send a check to “Homeless Helping Homeless, P.O. Box 475, St. Cloud, MN 56302.” People can also help by donating sleeping bags, tents, gloves, coats, furniture, bedding, dishes, pots, pans, other household wares, $10 gas cards and propane. Homeless Helping Homeless workers are also constantly seeking odd jobs to do, available apartments and trucks for hauling stuff. Text 612-868-0465.

Three homeless children enjoy the donated couch in their unfurnished apartment.

A homeless man inside his makeshift shelter sports a new hat and scarf made and donated by the “Yarn Ladies” of Sartell.