’24 Hours Of Homelessness’

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – One city in our area is taking proactive steps to help its homeless population. To do that, members of a special task force wanted to see for themselves what it’s like to live in a shelter, so they did just that, spending a day as a resident at the Salvation Army.

Hannah Maharrey was settling in for the evening at the Salvation Army’s Community Center, when she realized she forgot to bring a pillow. A few feet away another resident, who also sought shelter from the cold, heard about Hannah’s predicament, and gave up her pillow.

“It’s very important to share things with people, in need, if you see a person in need, always give a helping hand to anybody in need,” said Sonia, a resident at the Tupelo Salvation Army Community Center.

As Chairperson of Tupelo’s Homeless Task Force, Maharrey wanted to get a glimpse of what it’s like to live like many of the people she tries to help. So when the Salvation Army organized the first “24 Hours of Homelessness” Maharrey was all in.

“It was important for me to participate because before I assume I know what’s best for someone, especially in their homeless situation, I kind of want to walk the walk, talk the talk, see what their reality is,” Maharrey said.

So Maharrey, along with two other city employees, took on different identities, signed in for the evening, consenting to background checks, for the 24 Hours of Homelessness initiative. Lights were out at 10 and Maharrey was up bright and early.

“Good Morning, so I am walking now to get breakfast, 20 ish degrees, I slept okay last night, had to get out of the building, had to decide what to do now,” Maharrey said, as she videotaped herself walking to breakfast Friday morning.

Maharrey ended up eating at Burger King, because the daily free breakfast, known as “Saints Brew” was cancelled because of a maintenance issue at the host church.

Back at the Salvation Army for lunch, Maharrey said she had already learned a lot.

“It’s just like any other community, they are neighbors, even though they don’t have a home, a house, they are still neighbors, this is a community and this community is part of our larger community, that’s what we need to remember and understand,” she said.

The Salvation Army will host another 24 hours of homelessness this summer. They are hoping for more involvement for people throughout the community.

And next week, the Homeless Task Force will help with what’s known as the “Point in Time” Count. That is an annual census of the homeless population.