The SREHUP Story: From Failure to Cozy Cottages
Chapter 3: Failure, Pets, and Cozy Cottages!
The SREHUP story is about sheer persistence and harnessing the power of community. It is also about how the most valuable guides in the work of ending homelessness have always been both our own failures, as well as the voices of the people we serve. Once we finally found a home for our shelter, our community of both volunteers and clients became more diverse. We expanded our volunteer pool to include students from 8 area universities, as well as student volunteers in the k-12 grades in and around Philadelphia. Our community of both volunteers and clients includes people of all ages, backgrounds, and even species. Pets are family, and part of our rich tapestry of community. Approximately 25% of people who become homeless, are turned out on the streets with their pets. Once homeless, pet owners find it nearly impossible to access services together. There are no shelters in Philadelphia that house people with their pets, and very few throughout the country.
Philadelphia’s pet shelters, like most nation-wide, are also in the midst of a crisis. 7.6 million pets are taken to U.S. shelters annually. Due to lack of capacity, shelters are annually forced to euthanize 2.7 million of these pets — that’s around 36% of pets who enter the shelters. Given this calculation, people prefer to live on the streets with their pets, rather than be permanently separated from their best friend, and often only companion. Especially when they know this separation might lead to their pet being killed. This has led to both humans and animals dying on the streets of Philadelphia, especially when temperatures drop to below freezing. Every single winter we lose neighbors- both two legged and four-legged- to homelessness. In this city, where we have so much wealth, innovation, brilliance, and brotherly love, we are still losing people and animals every year to homelessness. Over the course of operating shelters in churches for 6 years, SREHUP had to turn away countless individuals who were seeking shelter with their pets. This always broke my heart. I knew we needed to fill this gap in the services.
SREHUP has always taken a non-traditional and holistic approach to transitioning our residents into permanent housing. We provide people with the skills, resources, programs, assistance that they need to pull themselves up and out of the condition of homelessness. Through our strong partnerships with service providers and eight local universities, SREHUP is able to provide mental health care, physical healthcare, rehab and addiction recovery support, financial literacy courses, GED training, job training and job acquisition assistance, and housing workshops.
While our model for moving people from the streets to housing was successful, we were failing those who were on the streets with their pets. Over the course of operating shelters in churches for 6 years, SREHUP had to turn away countless individuals who were seeking shelter with their pets. This always broke my heart. But it was the story of a man on the streets and the love for his dog that was the motivation for me to change the way the whole system operates.
It was a sweltering hot August day in Philadelphia, and I was rushing to finish my errands and get to my air-conditioned house. As I was leaving the parking lot of Lowes and Ikea, I spotted this man sitting with his dog and holding a sign that read, “Please help me and my best friend.” It’s an image that has become more familiar to us in large cities throughout the US as the rate of homelessness grows. In the United States today many Americans are living on the edge, forced to choose between basic necessities like purchasing food, paying rent, or going to the doctor. 43.1 million people live below the poverty level. In Philadelphia alone, about 12,000 people access shelter each year. People are turned away for various reasons, but most often because the shelters are at full capacity. Philadelphia is in a housing crisis — the problem is not only that income is low but also that housing costs have skyrocketed. In addition, with the competitive market it has become increasingly difficult to find landlords that allow tenants that were previously homeless, many of whom have evictions on their record and poor credit history. City shelters are at full capacity and the waitlists for low income housing are only growing longer. It is in this context that Heath and Pabu has become such a familiar sight to us. What struck me as I watched this encounter between the man and his dog, is that on this day, as the afternoon sun beat down on the cement barrier on which they sat, the man was using his only umbrella to shield his dog from the heat, while he absorbed all of the oppressively strong sun rays. I also noticed that while there was no refreshing water or food for the man, his dog had a full water and food bowl at his side. In all appearances, this man took better care of his pet, his best friend, then himself. I asked him if I could take his picture, and he cheerfully agreed. That night I sat in bed thinking of this encounter. I shared the pictures I took on Facebook, and asked my friends if they would help me start Philadelphia’s first shelter for people and pets. The reaction I received was overwhelmingly supportive. What surprised me is while my photo went viral, many people were commenting that they knew this duo. “It’s Heath and Pabu!” people exclaimed. I had dozens of people reach out to me to tell me stories of their encounters with Heath and Pabu. All the stories had a similar theme: Heath was always so caring and affectionate with his dog, and took better care of his best friend than he did of himself. I decided I had to go find Heath and learn more about him and his pet. I started to make it a ritual to go meet them around lunch time and talk to Heath about his life and aspirations. Heath expressed to me that he would love to have shelter, but cannot be separated from Pabu. I promised him that I would work to create the first affordable housing and community-first shelter system in the region that would allow him shelter and services with his pet. They two would stay together if I had anything to do with it.
So, with Heath and Pabu as my inspiration, my organization and I set out to open the first shelter in the region for people and their pets. What I didn’t realize, is that when we committed to opening Philly’s first shelter for people and pets, there would be a tremendous outpouring of support from the animal rescue community. In fact, I learned that the animal rescue community is in some regards better resourced than the human rescue community. And donations to pet friendly organizations are on the rise. Charities that focus on animals have seen an increase in donations of 7.2% in the last couple of years. For years my organization and I tried relentlessly to raise money for our vulnerable neighbors experiencing homelessness. I shouted from the rooftops: “Our neighbors are dying on the streets!” Money trickled in, but it was a challenge to meet our budget every year. When I said we would allow in pets, I did so in order to save the humans first. But it was only once I spoke to the need of pets, did the money and support start to flow in. I jokingly told my board, that had I known puppies was the secret password, we would have had one as a mascot since day one.
The life-saving potential of pets for our clients is well documented. The research indicates that interacting with pets is good for our overall health and wellbeing. Pets help lower our blood pressure, increase levels of serotonin, and help us get more exercise. Pets interaction has also been proven to reduce depression and even help mitigate the social withdrawal that is often associated with homelessness. Pets offer much-needed companionship, and can increase the quantity and the quality of social interactions for their human owners, increase the opportunity to build new social bonds, decrease loneliness, and encourage healthy behavior. Malik, one of our former shelter clients, told me that when he was on the streets, he cared for 9 stray alley cats. He said he didn’t know how we would be able to feed himself, but the cats never went without. Taking care of other living beings gave Malik a feeling of purpose, a mission and calling. It saved him from falling into the dark abyss, so easy to succumb to when you are suffering on the streets. Suicide rates amongst the homeless are 10 times higher than those with homes. The social isolation that people like Malik experience on the streets could lead to depression and suicidal thinking. Pets can be life saving for people on the abyss.
Despite the known positive effects that pets have on those who are experiencing homelessness, there is still mass discrimination against pet owners in poverty when it comes to homeless and housing policy, pets are kept out of both shelters, and low-income housing. This discrimination might be due to the stigma some have of those living on the streets and on the margins. Surveys indicate that people view the homeless as irresponsible, and to blame for their own predicament. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to witness the love and community amongst the homeless and between homeless people and their pets, know that in most cases, people who are homeless with their pets take better care of their pets than they do themselves. And there is sufficient evidence to suggest that pet owners with means are no more responsible with their pets than homeless pet owners. Our policies do not reflect the growing body of evidence that supports the need of pets and humans to be kept together. We should not be separating people from their pets. We don’t have to choose between saving one or the other: We can do both. Sheltering people with their pets is easier, cost effective, and more humane way to solve the problem of homelessness and animal euthanasia at the same time. In order to save people and pets, we need to put them together. We belong to each other, and are far stronger together.
What I didn’t realize, is that when we committed to opening Philly’s first shelter for people and pets, there would be a tremendous outpouring of support from the animal rescue community. We are working together with animal shelters and hospitals to create a new system that is innovative, revolutionary, and life- saving, both for our two-legged, and our four-legged neighbors. We are reimagining community.
And we are reimagining failure. Indeed, our current pet friendly project is the result of a huge failure. SREHUP had a building under contract. It seemed like the perfect fit for us — there was enough space for over 100 people to have their own bedrooms with their pets, a perfect spot for a gym, room for a rooftop garden, and office space for our partners. There was room to grow and we were ecstatic thinking about the potential.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of unexpected obstacles in obtaining this building. While we planned to be an epicenter for community gathering and positivity, we were met with obstacles from neighbors who did not want us as part of their landscape. While we are cultivating an inclusive community, we had trouble convincing people to make room for a homeless shelter in their neighborhood. We eventually had to give up on our dream building, and we were devastated.
But nothing is ever truly lost. SREHUP is so much more than a building; SREHUP is a movement, and it has a momentum and an energy that cannot be destroyed.
We learned so much from this setback. We recognized where we needed to grow, what we needed to learn, and how we needed to adapt. We came out of the experience stronger, smarter, and more effective as an organization.
This setback was actually setting us up for the most thrilling new adventure: Instead of purchasing a building to make our home, SREHUP is now in the process of creating a village of “cozy cottages” for people experiencing homelessness and their pets. We will have a community center that will serve as a hub for meals, activities, and workshops. We will also have a large community garden and animal run space on the land. Clients stay with us as they work through their discharge plan, and once gradated, will live in our villages of tiny homes for rent and ownership, as well as in vacant homes SREHUP will repair and make habitable. Our goal is to increasing the inventory of affordable housing in the city, and to lower the barrier to access that housing.
This project is progressive, innovative, and forward thinking. It nurtures the environment, along with our souls. It speaks to the interconnectivity of us to each other and to nature.
The best part? It brings us together when we all don hard hats and work together building and rehabbing houses. We are creating a work of beauty, we are all taking responsibility for these villages, and for each other.
That is the power of community.
