However, Clark says that while some of the homeless may have alcohol- or drug-induced problems, most are "just trying to get by." About 3.5 million people will be homeless at some point this year, with almost half being children, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. About 16,000 Pennsylvanians are homeless on any given night, according to the Pennsylvania Interagency Council on Homelessness. About one-third of homeless men are veterans, "many with post-traumatic stress disorder that keeps them from a stable life," Clark says. It is unlikely, he says, that they pose any threat to public safety.
Clark points out that it is unacceptable during the Winter, when snow lies on the ground and temperatures drop into the teens, to have anyone "trying to survive on our streets." Shelter, says Clark, "is a basic human need and many more problems are created when this need is not met." The "true measure of a society," says Clark, "is how it treats its most needy."
The "movable shelter program," run by Wilkes-Barre's non-profit VISION program, and with the support of numerous churches that give temporary shelter and meals to the homeless, has had relatively few problems, says Clark. VISION director Vince Kabacinski told Council he has offers of legal support not only from local organizations but from some as far away as Arizona. "I didn't ask Sugar Notch to become part of the problem with the "not in my backyard' " attitude, he said.
On a sign in front of the church is the message, "Jesus was homeless, too."
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