Twin City Missions is the only homeless shelter within a 50-mile radius of the Bryan-College Station area that accommodates both individuals and families.
Twin City Missions is a temporary emergency shelter designed to transition the homeless who come to them into autonomic individuals.
However, there are a limited number of beds for men, women and families.
The shelter never lacks volunteers due to the close relationship they share with the students of A&M.
Steven Bethea, director of homeless and housing services for Twin City Missions in Bryan, said the men’s shelter is full, and some people have been turned away and referred to other shelters.
“The largest demographic are single men between the ages of 22 and 36,” said Roger Crozier, director of community relations at Twin City Missions.
There are seven family rooms and those are almost full, Bethea said.
“For women, it is easier for them to be taken in by friends and family,” Crozier said. “With men, they let their egos get involved and they hold off until they can’t do it on their own.”
The new shelter that opened July 2009 has helped with both numbers and the process of reengagement Crozier said. “It’s easier to do in a positive environment than an old rundown one.” Regardless, there are peaks and cycles in the population flow depending on the weather.
“During the first freeze or in the summer time when the nights don’t drop below 90 degrees, and it’s unbearable. We see an increase in people,” Crozier said.
Besides providing a temporary place to stay for the homeless, one of the main goals of Twin City Missions is to get people to be self-sufficient and into their own places.
“We work with the Texas Homeless Network to get them out of our doors and on their own,” Crozier said.
However, it is up to the individual to make the initiative.
“They work with an agent to create a self-sufficient plan. It’s about reengaging, picking themselves up and making their own way,” he said.
Therefore, no one who has been drinking or taking illegal substances is admitted into the shelter, and if this rule is violated they are kicked out.
This process helps them to feel accomplished and rebuild their self-esteem and self-value, Crozier said, because being in a shelter makes people feel defeated and unable to care for themselves or their families. “We’ve been extremely successful with this,” Crozier said.
There has been a slight increase in homeless numbers due to the economy but a collaboration of agencies helps families meet their needs, Crozier said.
Student volunteers are also a great contribution to the workings of the shelter.
“Kids should volunteer there, and for homeless people overall it’s important to remember that they aren’t some other, lesser being. They are people,” said John Steele, senior history major.