When a hurricane hits, where do Macon’s homeless go? Some plan to ride it out alone

As Hurricane Michael blows towards Macon with gale force, some are scrambling to find a safe place to seek refuge. For Bibb County’s approximately 300 homeless residents, though, it’s hard to know where to turn.

Keith Christian plans to hole up under the rocks by the Spring Street bridge. Christian’s never ridden out a hurricane while homeless, and he doesn’t know what to expect. He’s trying to stay optimistic, though.

“I ain’t gonna panic,” Christian said.

Kenneth James Cloud is also struggling to piece together a plan. Cloud was hit by a train near Jeffersonville Road last month, and he doesn’t think he’ll be able to get too far from the river, where he normally camps out.

“I’m gonna hide somewhere, when the time comes,” Cloud said.

Major Francis Gilliam of the Salvation Army urged those seeking shelter not to “ride it out under a bridge somewhere.”

“Find a warm, safe place to go,” she said.

In the case of a natural disaster, the Salvation Army adds extra beds and accepts men, women and children until they reach their 150-person capacity. Gilliam said the shelter would extend its hours, operating 24 hours a day until the storm passes. Once the shelter runs out of space, the Salvation Army will direct visitors to other overflow centers.

The American Red Cross opened the South Bibb Recreation Center as an evacuation shelter on Wednesday, and 25 people had checked in by 2 p.m.

Hurricane Michael caught the shelter’s staff a bit off-guard, Gilliam said. But in the hours since they learned the storm might pass through Macon, they’ve already gone into disaster mode — ordering food, setting up cots and coordinating with other disaster-relief agencies.

Other local groups that support the homeless are trying to spread the word that the Salvation Army is ready to take them in when the storm comes. Smaller organizations like the Loaves and Fishes Ministry don’t have space to house clients, but staff members hope to point their clients in the right direction.

“We try to basically check with pretty much all of our clients that we know our homeless,” said Judy Sexton, Loaves and Fishes executive director. “You know, ‘Where are you going? What do you need?’”

As a crowd of several dozen streamed through the ministry’s lobby to pick up sack lunches around noon on Tuesday, Sexton asked clients about their plans for the storm and let them know they could go to the Salvation Army, even if they’d been turned away before.

If the weather gets really bad, Loaves and Fishes might not open for service later this week, Sexton said.

“If we’re open, people are more likely to come out into the weather,” she said. “And I would rather see them stay at Salvation Army.”

Daybreak’s staff are also unsure if the center will stay open when the storm comes.

The facility can hold up to 125 people, but only has space for about 35 cots, and it isn’t equipped to house visitors for an extended period of time.

“If it were absolutely necessary, we’d make it work,” said Rhonda Williams, director of clinic services and case management. “But we’re not really designed as a long-term shelter.”

Daybreak can be used as an overflow center if the Salvation Army runs out of space, though, Williams said.

“We wait for the Salvation Army to call us and tell us what to do,” she said. “But they try to use us as a last resort.”

In the meantime, those who serve Macon’s homeless population are trying to spread the word that there are safe places for them to go. They also want other community members to know that when the storm hits, they’ll need help.

“If overflow stations are opened, that’s a greater demand for the normal things that we get requested for all the time — that’s socks, clothing, food, all of that exponentially grows when all of that population congregates in other overflow areas,” Williams said.

She also recommended direct donations to the Salvation Army.

Sexton said Loaves and Fishes is always looking for donated rain ponchos and dry socks. Beyond that, there’s not much else the ministry can do, except hope those without a home stay dry and safe.

Cloud isn’t too worried about the hurricane. As he sat with two friends beneath an overpass on Walnut Street, he said he’s “thinking positive.”

“I’m gonna be all right. I know that,” Cloud said. “If that train didn’t kill me, I don’t think a storm is going to kill me, neither.”

Samantha Max is a Report for America corps member and reports for The Telegraph with support from the News/CoLab at Arizona State University. Follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/smax1996 and on Twitter @samanthaellimax. Learn more about Report for America at www.reportforamerica.org.

This story was originally published October 9, 2018 at 7:47 PM.