Jackson Free Press

"If I could just make it to daybreak/Maybe I could find my way by the light of the sun
If I could just make it to daybreak/Maybe I could find some peace when the day is done.
— Linda Townes

In prayer, poem, pictures, proclamation and song, they gathered at a clinic named for an indefatigable advocate for the poor to celebrate James Ivory Homeless Persons' Memorial Day. They came to shine a light on the horror of homelessness, to mourn the homeless who died during the past year, and to recommit to serving the homeless even more effectively until that hoped-for time when there are no more homeless to help.

In an autobiographical poem called "What's Wrong With This Picture," Michael Lewis eloquently portrayed the harshness of homelessness for those gathered at the James Ivory Homeless Clinic Friday, Dec. 19.

The poem urged people not to judge him because he lives on the streets and not to deny his humanity. He spoke of small indignities, like bathrooms that are off limits, which leaves him no choice but to "water your flowers."

The audience chuckled at the touch of humor in the realistic picture painted by this 40-ish artist who says he has been homeless for the last eight years. "What's wrong with this picture?" his poem asks, "the frame is crooked, but still hanging." Some organizations, agencies, advocates, and public officials that serve the Jackson area's homeless want to tear down that picture. Like cities across the country, Jackson began celebrating the day in 1992 in conjunction with the National Coalition For the Homeless.

Local agencies and organizations are in sync with a national movement to eliminate homelessness in a decade—an extremely ambitious goal, particularly because no one is even certain how many people in this country are homeless, let alone what to do to eliminate the condition. In 2000, the Urban Institute estimated that 3.5 million people, including 1.3 million children, would "experience homelessness" in any given year.

During the ceremony, Linda Townes sweetly rocked the room with an original song inspired by a homeless man she saw only once. Like others who work with the homeless, Townes, director of the Stubbs Homeless Program, which is part of Mississippi State Hospital Community Services, believes that cooperation between organizations and agencies that serve the homeless is crucial.

"It's going to take all of us working together to deal with the issues of homelessness," she said after the ceremony. "These are big issues."

For facts about homelessness and ideas on how you can help, see http://www.nationalhomeless.org