About 35 men and women filed into Catonsville United Methodist Church on Feb. 11 to hear how they might support their community's homeless population.

As one woman noted, however, speaker Theresa Donnelly was "preaching to the choir" in addressing members and friends of her host, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Catonsville branch.

Donnelly, vice president of the Catonsville United Methodist-based Lazarus Caucus, said privately after her speech that she knew some area residents have objected to having a homeless shelter in their midst and seeing apparently homeless men roaming Catonsville's main streets.

A Catonsville resident, wife and mother, Donnelly said she has concern for the homeless simply because "they are human beings."

Although Donnelly had no specific data on Catonsville's homeless, she noted that a Maryland employee earning minimum wage would need to work 155 hours per week to pay the fair market rent of $1,013 for a two-bedroom apartment.

In addition, renters must budget for a security deposit, utilities, transportation, child care, health care, food, clothing and so forth.

"It just seems to be so overwhelming," said Anne Crabb, referring to the overall challenge homeless people face as well as Donnelly's role in coordinating dinner for 90 to 100 men from across the southwest Baltimore county region, 365 days a year, for the county's westside shelter.

Crabb said she was a Catonsville United Methodist member who has supported Lazarus through her church's United Methodist Women's group.

Incorporated in 2004 and based at the church on Melvin Avenue, the Lazarus Caucus works to "give the homeless a hand up, not just a handout," as Donnelly said during her speech, noting that food and clothing are just two of many services offered.

"The right to housing is a basic right, and it is an issue of justice," said Phyllis Yingling, a Catonsville resident who heads the Catonsville WILPF program committee that invited Donnelly to speak last week.

Until January, when the county moved its westside shelter temporarily from the Spring Grove Hospital Center to Arbutus, Lazarus volunteers maintained an on-site resource center at the Catonsville site.

Volunteers helped shelter clients learn to compile a resume, interview for a job, use a computer, obtain Social Security and other identification, and, in some cases, read and write.

The resource center is scheduled to reopen at the Spring Grove site as soon as the shelter is operational there, probably this spring.

Meanwhile, it operates at a reduced capacity in a temporary facility at 4000 Southwestern Blvd.

The move to Arbutus, into a YWCA-owned building, was prompted by ongoing improvements to the Spring Grove site, including a commercial kitchen.

The county's Office of Community Conservation oversees the westside shelter program, which the Dundalk-based Community Assistance Network operates through a contract with the county.

Some people attending Donnelly's lecture knew all too well the face of poverty in southwest Baltimore County.

As director of the Arbutus-based Southwest Emergency Services, Betty Okonski said she recently encountered a woman whose 4-year-old child asks every day, "Mommy, where are we going to sleep tonight?"

Her voice choking as she recalled the encounter, Okonski said her group offers food, clothing, household items and bill-paying assistance to ease the burden on families trying to avoid homelessness.

Her clients come from the Arbutus, Halethorpe, Lansdowne, Riverview and Baltimore Highlands area, while the Catonsville Emergency Food Ministries serves the Catonsville area.

Donnelly said she relies on churches, service groups and individuals across Catonsville and the greater Arbutus area.

Holding an aluminum casserole pan above her head, she urged her listeners to consider participating.

Groups can prepare a dinner, such as a casserole plus a vegetable dish and bread or other starch; provide the ingredients for such a meal to be prepared by staff at the shelter; pay a restaurant to cater the meal; or donate cash for shelter staff to use in providing a meal.

Donnelly also coordinates a lunch program that calls for brown paper bags filled with items such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, pretzels, a piece of fruit, a cookie, bottled water and a napkin. About 60 of these lunches are needed on weekdays for men to take with them as they head out to find jobs, report to jobs or other activities.

Breakfast needs are simple: instant oatmeal or dry cereal, milk, fresh fruit, granola bars.

To support Lazarus Caucus, contact Donnelly at lucykate98@aol.com, or call the Westside shelter, at 410-370-0968.

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