The ARCH:  A Place to Call Home

On this holiday of labor, most are celebrating the fact that they have a job by taking an extra day off, but at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) the individuals are in search of a different kind of break.

Upon entering the ARCH, it was almost like entering the LBJ student center but instead of the hustle and bustle of students trying to make it to class, the people just wonder aimlessly with nowhere to go.

According to Dawn Perkins, Community Relations and Volunteer Coordinator, nearly 500 men and women are served there on a daily basis.  As the homeless enter, they are given a number to be identified by, and later the numbers go into a lottery.  Not your typical lottery with a monetary prize.  It is a lottery where the winners get a bed to sleep in for the night.  They also have a concession-like stand where they are provided with hygiene products, such as shampoo and body soap, in small, plastic ramekins for their day’s shower.

The smell of bleach indicates that the ARCH is an extremely clean facility.  In every corner there is someone scrubbing, and at 10:45 everyone is told to leave and return at 11:15 while the staff does some intensive cleaning.

Tony, one of the patrons at ARCH, said that he liked the facility because “they take care of y

ou” as he was walking at a fast pace as if he had somewhere important to be.

One thing that sparked an interest was an interview with a man named Chuck, who spoke of the implications of being homeless in Austin.  He said that the biggest concern among the homeless community was the law enforcement, and how much they try to suppress their presence in the streets during big events, such as South by Southwest, by arresting them for not having a valid I.D.

As we leave, we notice a long line wrapped around the street corner of people just waiting to be fed.

“There is no such thing as a skinny homeless person in Austin,” said Chuck.  “If there is, they are doing something they aren’t supposed to be.”

Visiting the ARCH was an eye-opening experience and brings on a sense gratefulness for having a job, a home and an education during these trying times.