Editorial: RHM faces growing need

If only we could raise arguments against Rowan Helping Ministries’ plans to expand into a new homeless shelter and soup kitchen across from the existing operation on North Long Street. If only we could honestly submit that the estimated $5.5 million needed for the project could be better spent elsewhere, on some other worthy cause.

But the reality says otherwise. The reality of homelessness, poverty, unemployment, underemployment and struggling families points to a vital need for RHM to have more space and the capacity to serve more people. While providing temporary and transitional housing is a large part of RHM’s mission, it helps in other ways, such as providing food assistance, helping with utility bills and providing other forms of crisis assistance. There’s no shortage of family crises in a county where the poverty rate has risen above 20 percent and nearly half the households receive some sort of public assistance. It’s not just the homeless who need help; families who once thought themselves on solid ground are tottering on the edge of the financial abyss.

What may be surprising — or has simply been forgotten — is that the recession has worsened this problem but it existed beforehand. A 2004 study of homelessness in 50 cities found that in practically all of them, the estimated number of homeless people greatly exceeded available accommodations, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. That was before double-digit unemployment and a surge in the number of children and families seeking shelter, even as the national assessment of homeless people shows a slight decline. And while these are problems traditionally associated more with cities than rural areas, RHM’s recent opening of an office in western Rowan indicates just how widespread the needs are.

As governments cut back, nonprofits such as RHM face growing demand for services. Fortunately, generous supporters such as Fred and Alice Stanback, the Robertson Family Foundation and others have stepped up to make the expansion possible. RHM has asked the city to donate unused land that would enable the expansion to move forward — a request that the city should expedite, providing there are no mitgating circumstances. RHM is a vital resource that reaches into the heart of Salisbury, geographically as well as symbolically.

Would that in some unforseeable future, there will be a story reporting that RHM has seen a plunge in clients, needs to downsize and is even turning away volunteers. That’s a problem the community would be fortunate to have.