Carl Rohr • Derry Member

When I relocated to Hershey in 2009, homelessness was a situation I never thought I would see here. It does exist, although we cannot always see it clearly in our normal daily routines. Backing up a few years, I relocated to the Harrisburg area in 1989. There were frequent signs of people living on the street, most noticeably when I walked to and from work on Second Street near Market Square Presbyterian Church. Yet I assumed it was just that way in a city even as small as Harrisburg. 

One of the first jobs I had was volunteering to drive a box truck from Carlisle to Philadelphia early on Saturday mornings for the purpose of picking up, transporting, and distributing foods for Project SHARE.  This was in the early 1990s. I drove to a nondescript food distribution center in the city. It was there I first witnessed the human scale of lack of good food for so many, including the homelessness population in Central PA. Many local families were, and continue to be, served through this Christian ministry effort. Later on when I became a Derry Church member, I really learned about people living without a home in our area by volunteering to help deliver food to the Harrisburg homeless, often in very poor areas of the city.  The local crisis has not eased; indeed, it has become more pronounced today. 

Both Cumberland and Dauphin Counties have social service agencies and organizations to help displaced people who have no safe place to sleep, a kitchen to cook food in, or a roof to shelter from the elements. People often resort to staying in public parks, under bridges, behind storefronts in alleyways, and in their cars. The reasons are too numerous to mention for living in these places. I can tell you that living out of a car with all your tangible possessions is not a good feeling. Yes, local humanitarian organizations can and do provide help, but the help also needs to be accepted by the homeless recipient(s).  Help comes in different ways: counseling services, temporary housing, job skills training, access to medical care, education and community living skills. Regaining one’s independence is a tremendous experience!  

The Derry Church community helps many local organizations and people in multiple capacities. We provide stimulus funding to help people who live in a supportive environment with structure, learning, love, and Christian values. We continue to help meet the needs of many. Recently, a homeless young man came to Derry Church asking for help. The church provided enough to assist him with shelter, allowing him to regain some stability so he could work his way towards independence. This is who we are at heart.

The “Tiny Home” in Harrisburg greatly benefited from Derry’s support to construct one of several tiny homes built to help local homeless veterans. We have also helped a Syrian refugee family resettle in Hershey, and Derry members also give time and effort and financial contributions to these area non-profit organizations that sustain Harrisburg’s homeless population:

• Downtown Daily Bread
• The Harrisburg YWCA
• Interfaith Shelter
• Bethesda Mission for men and women
• Christian Churches United (CCU)
• Logos Academy
• Gather the Spirit for Justice (GTSFJ)

Let us never forget those who are in desperate need for the most basic of life’s needs including not only food, water and shelter but also love, kindness, someone who cares, and a healthy environment.

Isaiah 58:7 gives people the urgent command to share food with the hungry and provide shelter for the poor. Matthew 25:35-40 says that helping those who are hungry, thirsty, or without shelter is like helping Jesus. Showing compassion, kindness, and mercy to the homeless is something that we as members of Derry Church are called to do.