Religious leaders in Carbondale are fighting rising numbers of homeless peoples.
CARBONDALE, Ill. (WSIL)-- Some religious leaders in Carbondale are calling attention to the issue of homelessness in the city.
They say the number of homeless people has increased.Â
One unhoused person Justine Zepeda says she has noticed the homeless population increased too. Â
Zepeda says she’s been unhoused for several years, and says she depends on the help of others to get by.Â
“And in doing so, I have come to find people that really need extra help, and they don’t know where to go. The resources I have come to find, are outdated. So I am going, and finding them resources that we need for 2024,â€� Zepada said.  Â
Amy Burge is getting lunch with her mom at Bethel A.M.E. church in Carbondale. Burge says they technically have a place to sleep, they don't have utilities.
“I have a goal right now. It's to save up the money to move into section eight,� Burge said.
Burge says they are fortunate to have an address to help them get a job. But for many people living on the streets, if they don't have an address it's hard to work.
“Carbondale and Murphysboro actually need workers,� Burge says. “And they will not turn you away if you need to work. If you want to work, you have to have a place to live. That's the downfall.�
Zepeda says she goes to the church’s soup kitchen for a good lunch, and Pastor Ronald Chambers, and other religious leaders in Carbondale, say they are also seeing more people sleeping in the streets.
“It is very hard. I mean when it's snowing, it's raining, stuff like that,� Pastor Chambers said. “People out there in the cold, man. I mean, like I said, we really want to help people.�
Zepeda says people are probably attracted to Carbondale because of its college town label.
“So when you don't know any better, and you're thinking about college that's why they come from all different places,� Zepeda said.
Pastor Chambers says while Carbondale does have the warning center, more needs to be done by the community.
“They're getting tired too and they're getting full and sometimes they can't house a lot of the people because they're already full,� Chambers says. “So we got to find another way in how we can come together as a community, and see this thing through so that everybody can have a place that they know they can go to.�
In a phone interview with Carbondale's Mayor, Carolin Harvey says while homelessness is an issue everywhere, sometimes other cities will bring people to Carbondale because it does have more resources like the warming center.Â
