By Sharon Gittleman
FERNDALE – Rene Hicks is living out every single mother's nightmare. Hicks and her four children – ages 6, 13, 15 and 17 – are homeless.
She was one of more than 70 people who came to Affirmations, Ferndale's LGBT community center Oct. 24 for Homeless Connect. It was a chance to meet with government and private agency representatives offering help – and to pick out clothing, undergo medical screening, have a haircut, enjoy a lunch and get started on the path out of poverty.
Hicks' troubles began when she lost her car and couldn't get to her job as a cook.
"I panicked," she said. When a stay with a relative didn't work out, she and her family moved in with a friend. Then, "It became a situation of domestic violence," she said.
Hicks, 39, and her family ended up at HAVEN, an organization that offers five shelters throughout Oakland County for women and children who need to escape from homes where brutality is the norm.
The Hicks family was lucky. Many moms and their children end up separated when they lose their homes, said Steve Overstreet, director of shelter services for Common Ground Sanctuary, which is based in Bloomfield Hills.
"A lot of places that take women don't take 15-year-old boys," he said. Sometimes, youngsters start out on their own. Parents' drug use can make home life unbearable. Mothers may pair up with boyfriends who reject their children, leading to their abandonment.
"There's a big youth homeless problem," Overstreet said. There are 175 youngsters a year who stay at Common Ground's Royal Oak shelter, he noted. Fear, illness and poverty can leave a lifelong mark on children – especially when their situation robs them of the chance to learn.
Help is available for youngsters who need reliable transportation to get to their classes and books and supplies once they arrive, said Sara Orris, the homeless student education coordinator for the Oakland County Schools Homeless Student Education Program.
"Last year in Oakland County, we served 1,300 students," she said. "We expect it to be higher this year."
Homelessness also dulls the spirit of many. Youngsters and their moms and dads may hide their problems out of embarrassment, Orris said.
"I had a family that would drive to a rest area along the highway so the kids could get washed up and people wouldn't know they lived in a car," she recalled.
In other cases, mental illness leads to homelessness – even among those with enough income to survive. Men and women suffering from schizophrenia and other diseases that leave them at the mercy of others often find themselves an appealing target.
"People take their money as rent and kick them out on the street," explained Bridget Riddeck, outreach care coordinator for Lighthouse Emergency Services of Oakland County. And police don't always offer a helping hand to such victims.
"They sometimes end up in jail for loitering and jaywalking," she said. Trust becomes a big issue. "I listen to them," she said. "Our No. 1 goal is to engage them."
Ragtag tarps set up in the woods and even sewage pipes have served as "homes" for some of her agency's clients, Riddeck said.
Organizers hoped the Homeless Connect gathering would make a dent in the problem in the county, linking people with community resources including housing benefits and health care, said Denise Danek. She's manager of clinical services at Community Network Services, a mental health care provider with locations in Farmington Hills and Pontiac.
"We want to help them take the first step," Danek said.
Tina Ashton, 35, was one of the individuals who visited Affirmations. She stood near tables piled high with toothpaste, socks, soap and other personal care items families were invited to take.
A heroin and cocaine problem sent Ashton to a treatment center and separated her from her three children, ages 12, 16 and 17.
"I'm hoping they have a chance to see me clean and sober," she said. "I want to have them all together at a big dinner at Christmas."
Meanwhile, Hicks' dream is to go to culinary arts school, become a chef and open a bakery. "I like to cook from scratch," she said. "It's what I love to do."
Her specialty is a white chocolate brownie with macadamia nuts and cashews drizzled with warm chocolate and served with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. Hicks hopes to get to work building her future as soon as possible.
"I want to do better," she said. "I want the cycle of poverty to end."
