Foundation helps Athens’ homeless

Most of us will never know the feeling of being without a home, but for some it is an unfortunate reality.
For Steve Phillips, the issue of homelessness was too important to go unnoticed. A little more than a year ago, Phillips and Paul Lazzari founded The Stable Foundation (TSF), a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating homelessness in Athens and surrounding areas.

Now, TSF has a five-member board: Robin Linck, Julie Meehan, John Hennigan, Johnathan McGinty and Phillips. Lazzari serves as the interim executive director.

The approach of TSF is housing first, which means its first priority is to get people into a home. According to Phillips, TSF provides a subsidy for rent that allows a homeless family to move into housing immediately, as well as a Care Group, made up of volunteers who have committed to compassionately helping the family get stabilized.

The relatively new organization has served 10 families, who are now doing well. “None of our families at this point has fallen back into homelessness,” said Phillips. “We are extremely grateful for that.”
Michael Wayne, 55, is the perfect example of someone who has benefited from TSF. After being homeless for about three years, Wayne finally received the help he was looking for and got back on his feet using the aid of TSF. Wayne now lives comfortably in a home with his beagle, Bo.

“They carried me for about four months,” said Wayne. “I was getting to the point where people kept telling me they would help me, and then TSF actually helped me. They physically got me off the streets.”

There are differences between TSF and other homeless foundations. First and foremost, according to Phillips, TSF has a conscious policy of non-disqualification. This means TSF attempts to serve the entire community of the homeless.

Shelters, where many people have to live together, have strict rules as to who qualifies and who doesn’t, as well as rules about behavior in order to stay in shelter, according to Phillips.

In the future, TSF hopes, according to Phillips, to own property in order to be more efficient with its funds. Also, it wants to become a model for other communities that express concern in approaching homelessness/poverty issues through a community-led advocacy approach.

“Fundamentally, the tragedy of homelessness is one of being cast out,” said Phillips. “For most of the population, the general reaction to homelessness has been avoidance. We move them out of the parks and off the sidewalks, and then, when they’re well hidden, we don’t think about it anymore. When it’s our brother or daughter or cousin and we know the human side of the story, they’re not homeless to us. They’re family.”

According to Wayne, none of the money raised for TSF goes to waste. “Every dime goes to helping families,” said Wayne. “It’s a great, great organization.”