Eugene Alvin Coles Jr. has worked on and off and been homeless for six years.
Yesterday, he and about 300 people looking for a warm lunch and basic medical and social services and a haircut came to St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Richmond.
Homeward, a planning and coordinating agency for homeless services in the Richmond area, worked with the church to offer additional services around its weekly lunch hour.
"I think it's a good thing that they are having the homeless out and everything," Coles, 57, said while eating his lunch in a crowded and noisy fellowship hall.
Homeward was conducting its winter 2009 homeless count yesterday at St. Paul's and around the Richmond area with the help of volunteers, law-enforcement and social services agencies. The count gives a snapshot of homeless people in a single day, said Kelly King Horne, Homeward's executive director.
"Getting this data really helps us plan what we do," she said. "Getting regular data has really helped us create better relationships with the counties."
Last summer, when Homeward conducted a similar count, close to 1,000 people were homeless. The results for yesterday's count will be released next month.
To gauge the impact of a slow economy and housing market collapse on homelessness, a 70-question survey asked people whether they had declared bankruptcy, lost their jobs or lost their homes through foreclosure.
Coles, who came to St. Paul's just for the meal and some clothing items, said he used to use drugs.
"I've stopped doing that," he said. "I'm going to church. I'm not where I'm supposed to be. But I know God has gotta have something else for me to do. I just don't know what it is, though."
Coles, who is staying at the Caritas shelter, said he wants a full-time job, not a temporary one.
"Right now, just to get on my feet good, I'm looking for anything," he said.
In a similar situation is Casimiro Castillo, who has been without a regular job for more than three months. He spent a few days on the streets, but he is now staying with friends in South Richmond, he said while getting his blood pressure and glucose checked.
He made his daily trip to downtown looking for a job in construction and heard about the free lunch, he said.
"I haven't had anything to eat," he said. "I also got a pair of boots and things to brush my teeth and wash my body."
Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or jlizama@timesdispatch.com.
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