STATE FUNDING VISION director might be forced to turn away homeless
WILKES-BARRE - Vince Kabacinski says he feels like a beaten man. After a year of deep budget cuts and record demand, he might be forced to turn 30 to 40 homeless men onto the streets before Thanksgiving.
This is the first time his organization, VISION, has teetered on the brink of closure.
Volunteers In Service In Our Neighborhoods, or VISION, each night provides 30 to 40 single men with a place to stay - mostly churches - at 42 rotating sites throughout Luzerne County.
"I feel beat up, tired. We've been doing this 19 years," he said. "But with whatever strength I have I'm not gonna put 30, 40 people on the streets for Thanksgiving or any holiday."
It costs $4,500 to $5,000 a week to pay five employees, provide meals and a warm cot to sleep on and provide the homeless with transportation.
Kabacinski has already slashed his staff in half from 10 to 5, saying any more cuts would compromise security. There must be staff supervision 24 hours a day, he said.
Tony Denis, 41, has been staying with VISION for about two months while other agencies help him find a permanent home. "If I have to leave I'll be sleeping in the streets," he said, from the shelter at the First United Methodist Church in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday night.
VISION has stopped running shuttles to work for employed homeless people, and no longer has adequate staff to search the streets looking for clients.
So far this year, VISION has provided 600 men with about 8,000 nights of lodging and 15,000 meals, he said. It's the fifth consecutive year VISION has served more people than the proceeding year.
"Numbers have never, ever, ever been so high," he said.
The reason?
"Economy, economy, economy," Kabacinski said.
Although donations have been down, he blames Gov. Ed Rendell, whom he calls "our wonderful, lovable governor Mr. Personality," for devastating service cuts.
A state $36.8 million human services development fund dropped to $3.5 million and Luzerne County only received $90,000, he said.
Last year VISION received $40,000 from the fund. This year it received nothing.
Denis said he thinks the government should help more. "We're gonna fight a war over there (in Iraq) for six, seven, eight months, that's a lot of expense when your own country is getting into a poorer state."
VISION's $325,000 annual budget is funded mostly by grants, including: $33,000 from the United Way, $25,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $63,000 in Community Development Block Grants and $30,000 from the Rural Health Corp. for medical expenses.
This year, the Times Leader sponsored "Concert for a Cause," which raised $12,481 for VISION.
"It went fast," Kabacinski said.
The infusion of cash might have staved off closure for a few weeks, but he said Wednesday he was down to his final five days of funding.
He said he didn't know where the men would go if he has to close Monday.
Charles Mosher, 69, of Wilkes-Barre, said VISION fills an important function. "A lot of people get hurt and they come here. They don't know which way to turn," he said. Though Mosher has a place to live, he drops by for coffee and companionship once or twice a week.
Kabacinski said he expects more donations will come in around Christmas, then new funding next year, but he hopes people open their wallets and pocketbooks now.
"People who have said call me if you need me, I'm calling them now. I'm making a lot of personal calls."
VISION began about 19 years ago when three men with nowhere else to turn approached a pastor "and said 'we have nowhere to stay,' " recalled Kabacinski, who came on board a short time later.
So the men stayed at the church and VISION was created to provide a more permanent resource for the homeless men of Luzerne County.
Nick, 46, said he and others need the same kind of help today. "I don't have anywhere to go. Everybody needs a place to stay in hard times. Everyone has hard times every once in a while."
Lauren Roth, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7218.
VISION: QUEST FOR DONATIONS
Send money to:
VISION
70 Davis Place
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702
It costs VISION between $16 and $24 per day to house and feed a homeless person.