Reading's mayor and other city leaders had an eye opening experience Tuesday afternoon as they saw firsthand where homeless people live.
Robert Youse wakes up in a tent every morning. He has been homeless for the past three years. He set up camp in a wooded area just outside Reading.
"In the summertime, it is not that bad. I can always jump up in the lake or in the creek to cool off, but in the wintertime, it is pretty brutal," Youse explained.
Youse is a Navy veteran who served from 1978 until 1982, but because he is a non-wartime vet, he said he has no benefits, so he worked a lot of odd-end jobs, but just could not make ends meet.
But this is not the end of the road for Youse. He recently learned about a nonprofit organization, called We Agape You Inc. The organization has a mobile ministry and food bank that feed the homeless throughout the month.
We Agape You is now seeking to rehabilitate two transitional houses in Reading for people to live in. Both row homes were donated to the organization.
"We are just seeking the community to reach out to us and help us with donations, building supplies, contractors. We need your help to get these guys out of a tent," said Randy Simmons, the president of We Agape You Inc.
It is a project Youse wants to be a part of, but Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer told 69 News it is going to take community support to get this project off the ground and assist other organizations throughout the area looking to end homelessness.
"When you see this situation, it kind of refocuses on what people are doing to survive and what we need to do as a community to make sure that we are providing a safe environment for people to live in," Spencer said.
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