Last month, Keith Walker’s time was almost up at the House of Hope, a faith-based emergency homeless shelter in Danville. Now, Walker is the “house man” for a group of formerly homeless men who live together in a house they’re fixing up.
Walker makes sure everyone keeps things clean, has a good attitude and is doing their part to help out with the projects to improve the house.
This temporary solution is thanks to Steve Barrow, a business owner in Danville with a passion for community service. Barrow heard that Walker and others were nearing the end of their 30 allotted days at House of Hope and had nowhere to go, so he gave them jobs and found a place for them to live for now.
“We have five guys at the house now,” Barrow said. “We had those five in just the first two days after we started this … and we still get so many people asking [to stay].”
The homeless population in some Southside localities has grown by about 65% in the last three and a half years, said Larissa Deedrich, executive director at the Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority, which serves the cities of Danville and Martinsville and Pittsylvania, Henry, Franklin and Patrick counties.
But reliable data about homelessness is notoriously hard to get, especially in rural areas, she said. Volunteers must travel around a locality and try to identify people without homes for a point-in-time count. This is done once a year and is mandated by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department.
“We go out, we walk the streets, we go to the parks, we go to the homeless shelters,” Deedrich said. “When we find people, we give them supplies they need and take down that information.”
It’s possible that the data shows increasing homelessness simply because there are more volunteers and more awareness around the issue, she said.
Still, homelessness remains a problem in Southside, and it seems to be most concentrated in the cities that the housing authority serves.
“Danville and Martinsville have the highest [rates of homelessness],” Deedrich said. “That could essentially be because they’re the largest communities in the area. And I think the data is a little easier to come by in these areas, whereas in the rural communities, it’s difficult to really get that data.”
The most recent point-in-time count, conducted in January 2023, identified 15 people without a place to live and 11 more staying at the House of Hope. But there weren’t enough volunteers to adequately assess this population, according to an article in the Chatham Star-Tribune.
In rural areas of the state, homelessness doesn’t look the same as it does in more populated or urban areas.
“We don’t see a lot of people sleeping on park benches like you do in a lot of larger communities,” Deedrich said. “What we do see are people who are squatting in abandoned houses. We see a lot of people who are sleeping in their cars. … We do still see some park benches, tents, that sort of thing. And then we also see a lot of couchsurfing or moving from house to house.”
Part of the housing authority’s role is addressing homelessness in the region, which involves collaboration with local organizations like the House of Hope in Danville and the Warming Center in Martinsville. And there are also people like Barrow working to make a difference.
Regionwide programming
This year, the housing authority began administering a HUD program to address homelessness in the region it serves. The program, called Continuum of Care, focuses on homelessness prevention as well as assisting the existing homeless population, Deedrich said.
When it comes to prevention, the folks at the housing authority are often in touch with landlords and property owners, finding out what it will take to keep tenants housed. For example, when an apartment building in Danville closed for renovations with little notice earlier this year, the housing authority worked to rehouse tenants and entirely avoid evictions.
“In some circumstances, if someone has gotten an eviction notice, we can assist them directly with at least part of the payment that they need to stay housed,” Deedrich said. “Sometimes we pay utilities if they need to have their utilities turned on. There are also times where someone in a homeless situation may have income and a place to go, but they can’t afford the security deposit or first month’s rent … so we’ll help with some of that too.”
To assist the existing homeless population, the housing authority works to connect them with services and support that may lead to finding a home.
Deedrich said it’s a misconception that if someone needs a place to stay, they can call the housing authority and find one.
“Unfortunately, it’s just not that easy,” she said. “If we can get them hooked up with a landlord organization that can help them, we certainly will. Sometimes it may be that we can get them into a homeless shelter, and then give them the supportive services that they need while they’re there, so that when they come out of shelter, they can find permanent housing.”
The housing authority has always tried to do things like this, Deedrich said, but now that the organization receives funding to administer the Continuum of Care program, it’s much more feasible.
“We were really limited because [this work] was really just kind of out of our own funds before,” she said. “Now the funds come from the state … and we can put it directly into this program.”
The housing authority is also starting another program, Step to Home, that helps people go from homelessness to homeownership.
“We like to say homeownership, because that’s the ultimate goal. But really, we’re just looking for them to find permanent housing, even if they rent,” Deedrich said.
The housing authority has received money from the city of Danville and Sentara Health for this program, and also puts some HUD funding towards it.
“We take referrals directly from places like the House of Hope and Danville Social Services, and we house someone for up to a year rent-free and utility-free,” she said. “They have a contract and for that year, they have to follow steps and do some financial literacy classes.”
When they can be self-sufficient, the participant receives a Section 8 housing voucher to move into their own place, Deedrich said, and can continue receiving support from the Section 8 program for up to five years.
Though the housing authority is based in Danville, these programs are implemented regionally.
“We always try to tell people, we are the Danville Redevelopment Housing Authority, but don’t let our name fool you,” Deedrich said. “We are doing work everywhere.”
‘We have to stop thinking and just start doing’
Despite the regionwide programming, many people still face homelessness in Southside. Barrow said he saw this happening and decided to do something about it.
He has a penchant for community service and has done other philanthropic work, like starting a computer training course for people recently released from incarceration. But he has never done anything to address homelessness before, he said.
“I just saw a need,” he said. “I hear people always saying they’re thinking about doing something to help, but while we’re thinking about it, people are actually out there suffering. We have to stop thinking and just start doing.”
Especially with winter coming, Barrow said.
“Being homeless, it’s a scary thing,” said Walker. “You’ve got to sleep with one eye open and one eye closed, and the one that’s closed is not really getting no rest.”
Walker was staying at a playground in North Danville before going to the House of Hope, he said. He had been homeless for about eight months before that.
“I’ve always been a go-getter, I just fell on some hard times,” Walker said, adding that he recently lost several members of his immediate family.
He met Barrow entirely by coincidence, while Barrow was picking up a printer from a customer of his computer shop, Hammer Hill Computers. The customer lived near House of Hope, and Barrow ran into Walker outside.
“I realized he had on a Masonic ring, with the same lodge number as mine,” Barrow said. “We started talking and he told me he needed a job.”
Barrow hired him. A week and a half later, Walker had to leave the House of Hope, which only allows stays of 30 days.
“I thought, well, wait a second, this is crazy,” Barrow said. “You have a guy that’s working, that wants to do something, that is actively trying to do something with himself, and you’re putting him back on the street.”
So Barrow let Walker stay in the computer shop until they could figure out another solution.
“He didn’t have anywhere to go. And at that point, I didn’t have anywhere for him to go, so I let him stay here,” Barrow said.
And by talking to Walker and other folks staying at the House of Hope, Barrow realized that this wasn’t unusual.
“They were telling me about other guys who work right now, and same thing, their time is up so they have to go back on the street,” Barrow said. “To me, that made no sense.”
But because the House of Hope functions as an emergency shelter, this time limit ensures that the organization can continue to house new people who need a place to stay.
And Barrow and Walker expressed gratitude for the shelter, despite the limit. Still, Walker needed somewhere to go when his time was up.
Barrow called a customer who owned several empty fixer-upper properties, and asked if one of them could house Walker and a few other men.
“I called him and asked if we could fix [the house] up while the guys are in there,” Barrow said. “If we have guys in there, there’s no reason why you have to pay someone to fix it up.”
The men have cleaned up the house and yard, Barrow said. They have installed a fridge in the kitchen and are hoping to get a stove soon.
These appliances, and other necessities like food and bed linens, have been donated.
“We’re trying to get more donations,” Barrow said. “Because right now, everything is out of pocket for me.”
Donations can be brought to Barrow at his Hammer Hill Computers location on Wilson Street.
The house has two main-floor bedrooms and the basement has been sectioned off to create makeshift rooms for three more people.
Eventually, Walker said, they’d like to put bunk beds in the basement to make room for more residents. Still, the house is meant to be a temporary situation for Walker and the other residents as they try to find work or start working, he said.
“We don’t want it to be like a crutch,” he said. “There are other people that need help too, and we want them to be able to come in behind us.”
And if you don’t adhere to the rules, you can’t stay in the house, Walker added. These include cleaning up after yourself, respecting each other’s belongings, and keeping drugs, alcohol and weapons out of the house.
Everyone in the house gets along really well, said Freddie McGee, another resident. “This is a wonderful place to be, and you have time to get yourself together,” he said.
McGee used to run a home improvement business but said he has been out of work for a while because of a disability. He met Barrow through the pastor of a local church where he was staying before going to the House of Hope.
Walker said he thinks rising rents and substance abuse are contributing to homelessness in Danville.
But he believes the city is doing good work to reduce and prevent homelessness, he said, and he’s thankful for organizations like the House of Hope and individuals like Barrow.
“We truly thank God for this chance to rebuild our lives again,” Walker said. “And we truly thank the Lord for Steve Barrow.”