KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
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Nine years ago, Marquita James felt forgotten — maybe even forsaken — by the whole world.
She was 18 and moved in with a family member after aging out of foster care.
“Things didn't work out, so I took off and started living in my car,” James said.
Bitterly cold days were hard to handle, but that wasn’t the only thing she battled in those moments.
“It was being alone, really, not just even just being cold, not having anybody to support you, those kinds of things, feeling like the world is just against you,” James said.
After struggling through some difficult years, including losing her car and living on the streets, James eventually — and perhaps reluctantly at first — accepted help from community groups offering support, including reStart and the Community Services League.
Needing a job, she started working on CSL’s Independence TOGETHER litter crew, was promoted to team lead, started taking classes, joined the CSL Board of Directors, and eventually joined CSL’s full-time staff as an Emergency Housing Services Case Manager.
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I met her Friday at CSL’s Drop-In Center, which also served as a warming center for those with nowhere else to go.
“It's not about how you look, how you — being honest — how you smell, none of that,” James said. “Just come in, get some food, warm up, take the edge off, and, hopefully, we can point you into some resources to help you get to where you want.”
The Drop-In Center, which can help people obtain new documents (birth certificates, driver’s licenses, etc.) to find work and housing, among other things, is only part of what CSL does, but it’s an important part.
“It's humanity,” CSL Chief Program Officer Lynn Rose said. “Anyone of us could be in this situation, so it’s about just having real care and compassion. Our staff who work here are passionate about the work that we do, and our volunteers who show up every day care deeply about people who are experiencing homelessness.”
James’s experience helps her connect with the people who come seeking shelter.
“Sometimes it's hard to wake up and have motivation when you don't have the vital necessities that you need,” she said. “... They're able to come here and get things to be able to clean up, at least be able to present themselves, have a toothbrush, toothpaste, come and get a warm meal. I remember days waking up not having that.”
These days, when James wakes up, she appreciates the person she sees in the mirror and steps into the world with confidence.
“I get up out of my bed knowing that if I don't come, there's some resource that somebody probably will miss out on, so I'm just here wholeheartedly because I've been on the other side of the sticks,” she said.
CSL’s Drop-In Center usually isn’t open on Fridays and won’t be open this weekend. However, staff plans to operate with extended hours — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. — throughout next week.
“Because the cold weather started last night, a lot of people are already in shelter, or they already have (hotel) vouchers, if they're going to access those,” Rose said. “A lot of people are where they're going to be for the entire weekend, which is our goal.”
At a more basic level, it’s about making sure people in situations James once endured don’t feel forgotten.
“There is hope out there,” she said. “You just have to know that. Don't give up on yourself. Put one foot in front of the other, and keep going.”
The Drop-In Center, which opened roughly a year ago at 4341 Blue Ridge Blvd. in the basement of the Good Shepherd Community of Christ Church, offers a meal, clean clothes, clean restrooms, and access to community resources.
Jackson County does not have a permanent overnight shelter for people experiencing homelessness, but CSL Drop-In hopes to add amenities and extend its hours in the coming year.
“What we hope to do is grow and be ready for certainly the winter of 26-27, to be able, especially in conditions like this, open our doors for people seven days a week with extended hours,” Rose said. “That takes time. It takes resources. It takes financial resources, staffing resources, all of the things to be able to open our doors — food to serve for those days, and all of the kind of overhead costs that come with opening our doors. But that's absolutely our goal.”
CSL also needs more volunteers and donations, especially for a cold-weather closet.
“We need resources for cold-weather gear — think like hand warmers, gloves, hats, scarves, coats, those sorts of things that make being outdoors more comfortable or survivable, in some cases,” Rose said.
More information about the Eastern Jackson County Drop-In Center is available online.
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