By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews.com
WALDPORT – A tall, rangy man in worn jeans and parka rushes into the storefront near the Waldport Café. “Hey, bro,” he greets the man on duty as he strides past shelves and racks crammed with clothing and blankets. Heading straight for the children’s section, he grabs a package of baby diapers and heads back out the door, leaving behind no money but an airy, “Later, bro.”
The visitor, a young father of five, has made these free pick-ups before. The man on duty seems not only unconcerned but actually glad to see him.
“He’s a regular,” says Dan Logue, on duty at The Hub, a resource center for the homeless and needy that opened last August. Like some of the clients at The Hub, the young father has a home, but struggles to make ends meet.
The Hub isn’t a shelter, but true to its name, serves as a central resource for support. Anyone can walk in and pick up a warm shirt or water-resistant jacket (if there’s one to be had), or, if it’s really their lucky day, snag a sleeping bag or small tent — for free. Donations of goods and cash are welcomed, and some central coast residents drop cash at the door to then browse the storefront like a thrift shop.
Logue, an amiable, trim man in his 50s, keeps folding a pile of newly-arrived used shirts while he talks about his volunteer work. As you’d expect from a former pastor who has served churches in Bend and Idaho, his speech is heavily laced with evangelical talk.
The Hub is the outreach of a 501(c)(3) non-profit called Free Church Ministries, run by Logue and Randy Terrell. Terrell, a recovered drug addict and formerly homeless, speaks often of “sharing God’s love” with those in need. The two both work paying jobs — Logue runs a small apartment complex in Waldport and Terrell works as a handyman — but they invest a lot of their own resources into keeping The Hub rolling.
“Not lazy, dirty, criminal people”
“I know that the homeless are not lazy, dirty, criminal people,” Logue says. “There’s still very much a stereotype that these people don’t want to work, that they’re trying to ‘game the system’. There may be a few individuals like that, but they’re a minority.”
The majority come to The Hub via word-of-mouth. Some are sleeping in woods, in cars, on benches, or moving “from living room to living room,” Logue says. Others may squat in abandoned buildings or stay in shelters or motels. Many are solo males; some are solo females, some families.
What brings them to such a life? A long litany of well-documented factors: mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, post-traumatic stress syndrome, job loss, medical bills, divorce.
“The people we see are often disillusioned; there’s a knowledge gap” about the resources available to them, Logue says. “We try to educate them; we are servants of the Lord who are providing as much assistance as we can. If we can teach them to depend on God — not on church, not government, not The Hub — that’s where the help is going to come from.”
Besides free clothes and gospel preaching, help can take many forms. Using a directory published by Food Share of Lincoln County, Logue and Terrell refer clients to a range of services, from emergency food to senior programs, transportation to employment. A key element is shelters, of course, such as those in Newport and Lincoln City (Waldport has none):
- Samaritan House, a 30-day emergency shelter.
- My Sister’s Place, offering some emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and natural disaster.
- Grace Wins Haven, which last year opened a five-night-a-week winter shelter at Lincoln County Fairgrounds.
- CHANCE (Communities Helping Addicts Negotiate Change Effectively); running a temporary emergency warming shelter in Lincoln City.
Waldport also has a group called Seashore Family Literacy, operating out of the old Waldport middle school gym/cafeteria and surrounding lot which houses a community garden. Begun by Senitila McKinley, Seashore offers education, job training and summer camps, as well as clothing and meals.
Meals are what helped launch Free Church Ministries in 2018. Logue and Terrell first met in Waldport at a men’s Bible study group, and Logue turned out for a barbecue hosted by Terrell in Newport’s Literacy Park. The events are a venue for free hot dogs and clothing, a little music and evangelizing — the next one is Feb. 21.
“Randy didn’t have anyone sharing the gospel,” says Logue, a board member of Waldport Community Bible Church. “I felt like the Lord had been directing me to do some work on the street, so I stepped up.
“After we did a couple of picnics together, Randy mentioned his desire to get a storefront where we could give away clothes on a regular basis.”
Their current location at 440 N.E. Commercial St. visible from Highway 34 became available, so the two launched Free Church Ministries and The Hub.
The need is there
The need for the services provided by The Hub and other central coast social service organizations is clear.
As one measure, during the 2018-19 the school year, there was a record high number of students in Lincoln County — 1,112 – who lacked stable or adequate housing at some point during the school year. At least 209 students were considered “unsheltered” as defined by federal law. Other categories include living in shelters and staying in motels or with other people due to economic hardship or loss of housing.
Statewide, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness estimates Oregon’s homeless at 14,476. The nature of homelessness makes exact figures tough to come by: those who lack safe, stable housing are often called “the hidden homeless.”
Several major businesses have been receptive to The Hub’s mission, with support coming from Safeway, Franz Bakery, Big 5 Sporting Goods and Smart Foodservice (formerly Cash & Carry). Logue and Terrell also work with South Lincoln Resources, another Waldport-based nonprofit that coordinates charitable programs in the area. Goodwill and the animal shelter thrift shop in Newport donate some of their own surpluses of used clothing.
Each day some 10-20 people come into The Hub for some hot coffee, a referral, maybe a pair of shoes and an uplifting message.
“The people who come in are very receptive to the gospel,” says Logue. “We’re living the old adage, ‘Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.’ We’re educating people to depend on God, and in the meantime, we’re feeding them fish.”
– – – – – – – –
People seeking help or wishing to donate can contact Free Church Ministries at freechurchministries@gmail.com or call 541-563-7789. In terms of donated goods, the top needs are sleeping bags, tents, tarps and shoes. Men’s jackets are also high on the wish list. Its Facebook page can be accessed by searching “Free Church Ministries.”
– – – – – – –
Cheryl Romano is a Yachats freelance writer who can be reached at Wordsell@gmail.com