CHRONICLE, WE’VE LOOKED AT THE STATE OF HOMELESSNESS HERE IN PITTSBURGH AND IN OTHER MAJOR CITIES. THE PEOPLE BEING IMPACTED AND THE GROUPS HELPING TO TURN PEOPLE’S LIVES AROUND. WE KNOW THAT MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS DO NOT HAVE A PERMANENT HOME TO CALL THEIR OWN. AND FOR COUNTLESS MEN AND WOMEN, IT’S A STRUGGLE TO FIND A WAY OUT OF TEMPORARY SITUATIONS. FOR NEARLY 90 YEARS, THERE IS ONE PITTSBURGH SHELTER THAT HAS BEEN A PARTNER IN HELPING MEN CREATE A PATHWAY TO INDEPENDENCE WITH COMPASSION AND CARE. DANIEL TIBBETS DID NOT KNOW WHERE TO GO AFTER LOSING HIS LONGTIME HOME. FOLLOWING THE UNEXPECTED DEATH OF HIS GIRLFRIEND. I WAS LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, BEING OUT ON THE STREET AND I CALLED ALL THE SHELTERS AROUND. MOST OF THEM ARE NOT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE. YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO WALK UP STAIRS TO GET INTO THEM WITH NO STEADY INCOME. THE DISABLED NAVY VETERAN ENDED UP IN A TEMPORARY BOARDING HOUSE, CLOSE TO HIS FORMER HOME, BUT SAYS IT WAS A DANGEROUS AND AN UNHEALTHY SITUATION IN A LOT OF PEOPLE DOING DRUGS. PROSTITUTE ROUTES IN AND OUT OF THE PLACE THAT ALL CHANGED WHEN HIS SOCIAL WORKER VISITED AND FOUND BEDBUGS CRAWLING ON DANIEL. AND SHE SAID, WE GOT TO GET YOU OUT OF HERE. AND I SAID, PLEASE DO. AND THEY HOOKED ME UP HERE. DANIEL CREDITS VETERANS PLACE WITH CONNECTING HIM TO THE PEOPLE HERE AT SAINT JOSEPH HOUSE OF HOSPITAL CHARITY OPERATED BY CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH, A- PLACE HELPING MEN 50 YEARS OF A- AGE AND OLDER WHO ARE WITHOUT SHELTER TO REGAIN THEIR LIVES SINCE 1937. IT TAKES A LOT OF PEOPLE TO CARE, AND THEY DO. IT’S WHERE DANIEL HAS FOUND A PATH OUT OF HOMELESSNESS THAT SOMEONE WAS THERE TO HELP. ESPECIALLY THE PEOPLE HERE. THEY’RE AWESOME. I CAN’T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT WHAT THEY DO FOR US. IT’S A SAFE PLACE, YOU KNOW. THEY CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE. YOU KNOW, IT PRETTY MUCH TURNED MY LIFE AROUND. IT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU SEE EVERY DAY. SAINT JOE’S PROGRAM COORDINATOR, JAMES GREER, SAYS THE PANDEMIC PUT GREATER STRESS ON PROGRAMS AND SERVICES FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. WHEN I DO INTAKE, I AM YOU KNOW, I’M COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE AT VERY, VERY DESPERATE AND VULNERABLE POINTS IN THEIR LIFE, HE SAYS. PEOPLE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE HOMELESS THAN THE MEN AND WOMEN WE MAY SEE IN TENTS. YOU KNOW, LIKE THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT THEIR HOUSING IS INSECURE. SO THEY’RE LIVING WITH FRIENDS. THEY’RE LIVING OUT OF THEIR CAR. IT’S IT’S IT’S EQUALLY AN INVISIBLE IDENTITY AS IT IS A VISIBLE IDENTITY. WHILE EVERY STORY IS DIFFERENT, THE COMMON THREAD TO THE PEOPLE JAMES AND HIS TEAM HELPS. THEY ALL WANT THE SAME THING. STABILITY, SOMETHING TO CALL HOME, SOMETHING PLACE WHERE THEY CAN JUST PUT THEIR HEAD DOWN, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE BEING OUT THERE EVERY DAY, WHEN THAT’S UNCERTAIN, THEN THAT WEARS YOU DOWN AND IT’S HARD TO SURVIVE. AND JUST HAVING THAT BASELINE CONSISTS NC IS ALL ANYBODY WANTS. IT’S ALL WHAT WE NEED PHYSICALLY AS PEOPLE. DANIEL FOUND THAT STABILITY AT SAINT JOSEPH’S HOUSE DIAGNOSED WITH DIABETES AND NEUROPATHY IN HIS LEFT LEG AND HANDS AND LOSING VISION IN HIS RIGHT EYE, HE’S NOW GETTING THE MEDICAL HELP AND COVERAGE HE NEEDS TO SOMEDAY BE ON HIS OWN. IT TOOK TIME. I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST GOT OUT OF THE HOSPITAL, I COULDN’T EVEN STAND AFTER UNDERGOING SURGERY IN REHAB. DANIEL HAS MORE MOBILITY. I HAVE A LOT OF FRIENDS DOWN HERE NOW. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT I CARE ABOUT, PEOPLE THAT CARE ABOUT ME AND, YOU KNOW, IT’S A NICE PLACE TO BE. ALL THANKS TO HIS TEAM OF SUPPORT NOW TAKING CARE OF A MAN WHO ONCE ENLISTED TO SERVE HIS COUNTRY. I WANT TO DO RIGHT BY THEM. AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE, LIKE AS WE SHOULD, AS A COUNTRY AS A WHOLE, IS TO TAKE CARE OF THE PEOPLE THAT TOOK SO GREAT A RISK AND ARE NOW HERE AND SOMETIMES CAN BE THE MOST VULNERABLE, ONE OF THE MORE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS IN OUR SOCIETY. JAMES SAYS HE’S INSPIRED BY DANIEL’S INNER STRENGTH AND GOODNESS, A MODEL RESIDENT NOW ON THE PATH TOWARD INDEPENDENCE. THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT CARE AND THIS PLACE IS ONE OF THEM. I DON’T KNOW WHE