Pastor Leaves Legacy of Helping the Homeless

When the Rev. Greg Roth arrived in Glendale 12 years ago, he seldom heard the word homeless , and the people sleeping in the alleys, doorways and parks had drawn little notice at City Hall.

But as people wandered into Glendale Presbyterian Church seeking help, the young pastor learned there were hundreds of homeless in this comfortable suburb, few of whom fit the profile of “street people.” With nowhere to send them, Roth soon began tackling the problem in his own low-key way.

Now, as he prepares to leave Glendale for a church near San Jose, Roth is widely credited with opening the city’s eyes to a long-ignored issue, and helping to establish a network of programs that offer meals, shelter and job referrals.

Even as he goes, Roth is an unrelenting spokesman for a cause that continues to receive a lukewarm reception in the city.

“Some of the old Glendale folks still are very fearful. They feel if we provide services, it will encourage the problem,” said Roth, 39. “What I’m saying is that because we’re not providing appropriate services, people are getting worse, not better.”

In the mid-1980s, Roth persuaded local social-service groups helping the homeless, including the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army, to work together and avoid redundancies. A few years later, with the Salvation Army’s help, he started the Lord’s Kitchen, which now provides about 100 needy people with one meal a day, six days a week, using volunteer help and donated food.

More people began taking notice when the agencies, dubbing themselves the Glendale Homeless Coalition, published a report in 1992 called “State of the Streets,” which documented the number and types of homeless people in Glendale. Among its findings: the 1990 U.S. Census estimate of 99 homeless people in Glendale was about 250 short.

The biggest group of homeless were the “invisible” type, the report found, or families living in cars or staying with relatives. They were followed in number by the chronic homeless, who often include war veterans and the mentally ill. Surveyors found that the most common sleeping place for homeless people in Glendale is not Brand Boulevard, but motel rooms paid for with vouchers from the local charities. They also found all but a fraction of the homeless had roots in Glendale.

“A lot of these people went to school here, or they may have relatives that live here,” said Roth. “We have a moral obligation to try to help. To ignore them is to ignore our own people.”

In 1993, the homeless coalition was informally incorporated into the functions of the city manager’s office. At the same time, Roth’s church began operating an overnight shelter during the winter months.

Today, the city is poised to open what is being called a “super center” for the homeless that combines a walk-in job referral service, health screenings and more, all run with a tough-love philosophy aimed at helping people regain their self-sufficiency.

A $1.1-million federal Housing and Urban Development grant will cover the first 30 months of operating costs for the new center, to be located in an industrial building leased by the city near San Fernando Road. It is expected to open this fall.

Although it is not nearly as large as other homeless shelters in the county, some citizens are concerned the new center will attract more homeless people to Glendale and create other problems.

“I’ve never seen an area that’s been improved by a homeless shelter,” said resident Carol Gilmore, speaking at a forum on homeless issues at City Hall last week.

“There are many existing services and I think they should be referred to those before we start adding new ones,” she continued. “I know it isn’t the popular thing to say, but I’m just expressing what a lot of people may be thinking but are afraid to say.”

Proponents of the super center say it will be far different than the homeless shelters of old that allowed clients to come and go. To qualify, clients must enter a “moral contract” requiring them to organize personal paperwork, interview for jobs, make sure their children are in school and take other steps to get back on track. If they falter, they are bumped from the shelter.

“That might sound severe, but the goal here is to provide a continuum of care that fosters self-sufficiency, not dependency,” said Joe Coletti, a consultant hired by the city to run the new shelter. The City Council unanimously approved plans for the new homeless program recently, marking a dramatic shift in policy compared to several years ago when the issue was seldom discussed. Councilman Larry Zarian said he has become more sensitive to the issue as he has been confronted with the facts in recent years.

“I’m not one of those people you can categorize as a bleeding heart,” he said. “On the contrary, I believe people need to pick themselves up by their own bootstraps. But then you realize there’s a segment out there that want to, but they just can’t do it on their own.”

Roth, who leaves for his new job this week, said he considers his task complete in Glendale, although he believes the existing services are still falling short. For instance, the new year-round shelter will have about 40 beds, but he believes twice that many are needed.

Nonetheless, many others agree that Roth’s legacy is clear and the machinery is in place to continue his work.

“Everything’s coming together now because of Greg’s initial efforts,” said City Manager David Ramsay, co-chair of the homeless coalition. “The irony of him leaving is that many of the programs he started working on several years ago are really taking off now.”