Richard Hyatt: I thought of Paul Garner

He was homeless and probably thought old friends had forgotten him. After surviving 20 years on the streets, Garner died on a morning where temperatures plunged to nearly zero. He was 51 years old.

Too bad he wasn't around to see how much he was loved. Instead of being buried in a $19.95 plywood box in a pauper's grave, friends from his old neighborhood made sure he was laid to rest on a hillside at Parkhill Cemetery. Touched by the efforts of Garner's childhood friends, Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan donated the beautiful grave site.

Here we are, on the edge of another winter. The forecast will eventually call for more severe weather, and when it does, other men and women will need help. Help may come in the form of a folding cot or hot coffee in a Styrofoam cup or something as simple as a moment of escape from an unforgiving night.

Will it be there?

Neil Richardson knew Paul Garner. He watched him come in and out of the county jail where Richardson serves as chaplain. He wished he could have rescued him.

In January, Richardson and a group of volunteers operated the SafeHouse, across from the lockup as an offshoot of the Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry. The original location had around 1,000 square feet of useful space.

In the weeks after Garner's death the facility moved to Rose Hill United Methodist Church located at 2101 Hamilton Road.

But space isn't the primary issue, Richardson said.

"It's about familiarity and relationships. We're ready to open up the whole church if needed but we will not use somebody's formula to decide when that is."

SafeHouse served 690 different clients last month and put 2,000 meals on the table. Other agencies also want to help. But Richardson candidly admits that local services still aren't properly coordinated.

"You have to be able to meet an emergency when it arises and also deliver daily services," he said.

That might mean putting aside the usual rules and policies. Forget the paperwork. Don't ask for a picture ID and don't ask a person if he or she is sober. "The SafeHouse is large enough to do these things when there is an emergency," he said.

Richardson wonders if the community is enabling the homeless problem instead of ending it, and he wishes that would change.

"At some point you have to get the cow out of the kitchen or else you'll keep cleaning up the mess."

Just ask Paul Garner.

This story was originally published November 5, 2014 at 12:13 AM with the headline "Richard Hyatt: I thought of Paul Garner."