"No Safe Haven for the Homeless" The Reach Program Closed

WILKES-BARRE, PA. - Friday was the last day for the Reach Program's many years of service to the homeless. Due to budget cuts, this wonderful "safe haven" for the less fortunate has been closed.

"The Reach", located at St. Stephens Church on S. Franklin st. was a day shelter for the homeless of Wilkes-barre and surrounding towns. Although this "safe haven" was open only for a few hours a day, it gave the homeless a place to shower, eat, and drink. Then after, watch some TV and relax. The Reach allowed the homeless to get out of the restless streets and into an environment where they can refresh.

The Reach Program was not only for freshening up, there were professional staff on duty. The staff had the resources for the homeless men and women such as shelter, food pantries, job agencies, and other organizations they would benefit.

Also, a clothing bank was open to the homeless community. Multiple racks of clothes for men, women, and children is what occupied the basement of St. Stephens Church.

The Reach Program held there own food pantry every Wednesday. The food, donated from many people, was the highlight of there week.

We counted on "The Reach". Yes, I said "we". The reason being is, I used to be homeless at one time. Suffering on the cold streets with nowhere to go. I was scared and to afraid and embarrassed to sleep outside on a bench. I would stay up all night and then head to "The Reach". I, as a homeless teen, depended on that program for a couple of years. They helped me get back on my feet. In my opinion, it is a shame they closed.

What are the homeless going to do now? Where can they get out of the heat or for that matter, the blistering cold when winter comes in only five months?

Unfortunatley, the homeless shelters in this area are sometimes packed and people have to be put on waiting lists.

I have compiled a list of what all was done for the homeless at The Reach Program.

1. Helped find housing

2. Food pantry

3. Clothing bank

4. Helped with job placement

5. Helped with budgeting

6. Helped with filling out applications

7. Counceling services

8. Support

9. Supplied showers

Most importantly,

10. Provided a "Safe Haven"

CHILD ABUSE AWARENESS

Have you ever made fun of a classmate or have known a classmate that was made fun of? I am talking about the classmate that was stinky, ugly, short, to tall, to fat, or just not a very sociable classmate. Well that is the kid that is more than likely the one that is being abused severely at home. If you were the classmate that made fun of the kid sitting by themselves at lunch, you were only making it worse for them.

Children in that situation always feel scared, nervous, and confused. The feeling of being scared comes from not knowing where they stand in the world. The feeling of nervousness comes from trying to always fit in and realizing that they are always failing. The feeling of being confused is that every where they go, it is not safe.

These kids have these feelings all day at school and then when they go "home".

What people do not understand is that abused children often are so afraid to go home due to there parents physical, emotional, verbal, and mental abuse. The kids that are unfortunate are always walking on eggshells.

I am introducing this subject so that people can stop the horror chain of child abuse. We all need to be aware of it because if we, as adults do teach our children the kind and correct way to treat others then this abuse will stop. It may take a long time but we will see success.

"So You Feel like You Don't Have a Soul"

Jun 29, 2011 by Angelica Manzietti

When someone feels like they do not have a soul, it can be a very traumatic experience every day of there lives. The soul, is the inner most part of one's body. We depend on our soul to take care of our feelings and attitude towards life in general. Of course the brain has a very huge part in how we think and act, but I am not talking about damage to the brain. I am speaking in regards to the destruction of one's soul.

This feeling of not having a soul does not happen over night. Our souls would have to take years of beatings, let downs, mistrusts, heartaches, terror, abuse, and much much more before it would eventually just vanish into thin air.

Those who really feel such a way, as myself, know that in the beginning we enjoyed life more often. We felt the feeling of love and joy. We had an understanding of people in general. If we happen to get upset, we learned to cope. We were happy and easy-going. I bet we all wish we can go back to those days when we were feeling good about life.

Although, our lives were not always fun loving and charming, was it? No, our childhood was a nightmare. Maybe you were physically abused like me or maybe you were molested. Whatever the case may be, those years of fright was the beginning of our lost souls. After those years have painfully past by, most try to forget about it. Not a good idea. It is always best to talk about it. So, we hold the past deep down inside our body's thinking it will be ok and while we were doing that, we are making friends, socializing, hanging out, and partying.

Now, this is the point of our lives where we fell into the relationships. Girl friends, boy friends, and best friends were a huge part of our lives. Then one day they do not want to be there with us any more. Friends move away or find new friends. We were left alone and abandoned.

Then we find a boyfriend or girlfriend that we were so in love with. We have all been there. "We are going to be with each other forever". Well, one heartache leads to another and then another till, eventually you feel worthless.

Most women and men do not develope the "lost soul" feeling. We develope the feeling when we are older. It can most deffinately happen when your younger too, but it is more likely to happen when you start to realize that your loved ones are dying off. Your father dies and then a few years later your mother. I believe when awfull events start to happen at a rapid pace and it is already hard to deal with the first stressfull situation, we just start to give up on life.

Now, instead of the happy, kind-hearted, and playful "person" we all used to be, we see our selves as monsters. We notice now, that almost everything bothers us. The aggitation alone would be enouph for people to not want to go near the wrath of not having a soul. We also start to notice we yell and scream instead of talking our quarrels through like normal. We have lost our souls and can take just as long to get them back as it did to lose them.

We are not like other people. We think differently now. We do not have many friends and have not made any friends. We have not socialized in many years so we forgot the way to make friends. We are lost souls wondering how to get back to the way we used to be. We struggle in life so much now that it is depressing. We feel there is just no way to get our souls back. "So You Feel Like You Don't Have a Soul".

You are not alone...........