Homeless face struggle for survival
Minister continues mission to serve forgotten residents
BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer
Over the entrance to a trail leading into the woods was a Mexican flag that swayed above the heads of people who were about to go into those woods. A couple of feet back were colorful, tattered and torn tents left vacant by the day laborers who live in them.

TOYNETT HALL Tents and personal items that can be found on the outskirts of Lakewood are evidence that homeless individuals are part of the tapestry of Ocean County's population.

Inside the tents were mattresses. Outside the tents were a goat, some tarp and a few propane tanks. This encampment is one of several that can be found on the outskirts of Lakewood, and its existence displays the reality of Ocean County's homeless population.

The Rev. Steve Brigham of Lakewood Outreach Ministry Church has been providing assistance to this group of people for seven years. Brigham operates the initiative solely through private donations.

With scarce resources for the homeless and winter approaching, Brigham is asking the community to help him provide tent kits for the needy.

The clergyman leads his crusade in a big blue bus, which is a boarding room on wheels. Inside the mobile shelter are a couch, bed, washer and dryer, commode, shower, filing cabinets, desk and a curtain that wraps all the way around for privacy. On top of the bus in the small window where destinations are usually posted, the sign says "God Is Love."

Brigham said the bus is used to provide shelter for one or two persons. He said there is no shelter for homeless individuals in Ocean County. He said most of the homeless people he encounters would rather stay outside than go to a shelter.

"A mission can be a very cold environment. It is usually just a bunch of beds. They lock you out during the day where you leave at 6 a.m.," Brigham said. "What I have seen with the homeless is that they have a sense of ownership - they own these tents. These are their tents - they own this property. And ownership has a whole lot to do with how you feel about yourself and how you feel about your environment.

"In a shelter, usually, you are told what to do, when to come, when to go, and it really causes a person to have low self-esteem. With a tent, it builds their self-esteem," he said. "It's not a house, but it's theirs. It's their own piece of property. They are cooking for themselves, they are going and coming when they want to. They are their own person and it really makes them feel a lot better about themselves."

In addition to taking his bus around to help homeless people in the environment they call home, Brigham also leads a program twice a week at Town Square in Lakewood, and the Saturday Square program where goods such as clothing are distributed to those who need assistance.

Charles Errickson, 51, of Toms River, has been part of the homeless community for five years. For the past year he has volunteered his time cooking breakfast inside a beige Winnebago that is set up for a program that offers meals to the homeless.

According to Errickson, "The resources in this area for the homeless are pretty much scarce. A lot of time the homeless in this area are overlooked. I am here to give back. What goes around comes around."

Elizabeth Shelkowsky, 43, is a homeless woman who also donates her time to the ministry. Shelkowsky, an immigrant from Haiti, said she was found in the park by a Good Samaritan who referred her to the ministry.

"I was brought up to help the homeless," she said.

Shelkowsky now resides in the blue bus.

According to the head of Lakewood Outreach Ministry Church, Lee Tucker, pastor, "There is a desperate need in the community. These people need the help that could mean the difference between life and death. I could not see the need and not do anything."

Tucker said the church which has been held at his home for the last six years will be moving services to the Lakewood Middle School on Oct. 7. His goal is to eventually open a mission where the ministry can feed the homeless 24 hours a day and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said he is seeking faith-based money to bring his dream into fruition.

Alison Recca-Ryan, the New Jersey director of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a national nonprofit, said, "As of Jan. 25 there are 14,939 homeless people in New Jersey. Of that number, 12,397 are adults and 2,542 are children."

In Ocean County, 366 adults were found to be homeless. In Monmouth County, 590 adults were found to be homeless, according to information provided by the Corporation for Supportive Housing.

According to Recca-Ryan, these numbers may be under-reported

Brigham is currently seeking donations of tents, tarps, sleeping bags, pillows, lanterns (propane), flashlights, batteries, stoves (propane), ovens (propane), cooking sets, place settings, propane tanks with hoses and fittings, heaters (propane), water tanks, toiletries, propane and portable commodes.

In addition, he has sought out two grants to help him sustain this effort. The first is a $3,500 Community Development Block Grant from Lakewood and the second is a matching grant worth the total of 10 tent kits ($7,590) from an anonymous donor who resides in Interlaken.