Local woman cares for homeless rain or shine

The American Press

Kelli Tidwell Stawecki has a heart for the homeless.

The local advocate springs into action for the area’s homeless population every time a cold snap heads our way.

Within minutes of Stawecki posting her pleas on Facebook, commitments for donations begin pouring in and temporary shelters are secured.

“I just couldn’t imagine leaving all of our homeless friends out in the cold,” Stawecki has told the American Press. “These are my people.”

Stawecki has gotten to know many of the area’s homeless people because her church, Water’s Edge, has a program to feed them.

“We focus on building relationships with them, being consistent in reaching out to our homeless friends, feeding them, helping them apply for disability if they qualify, assisting them in looking for jobs, helping them to secure housing, and whatever else we can possibly do,” she said.

Stawecki knows every nook and cranny where many of them hang out and sleep, whether it’s under a bridge, behind a building or in the woods. Although a few of them have sleeping bags and a couple of them have tents, she said most of the homeless sleep on the “cold, hard ground.”

For the homeless, a cold night could be deadly.

In anticipation of colder weather a few weeks ago, Stawecki and Water’s Edge opened a temporary shelter — complete with showers and laundry facilities, air mattresses, soup, wings, fruits, snacks and pizza — and allowed the homeless to stay an extra day so they could watch the New Orleans Saints-Los Angeles Rams game on a big screen television.

Stawecki, who has a blue T-shirt that reads “Homeless Lives Matter,” said there’s not enough local programs to help all of the area’s homeless.

“There are more and more homeless, and I don’t see the problem being solved anytime soon,” she said. “There just aren’t enough local shelters or programs to help our homeless population.”

Keeping all of the homeless people safe throughout the winter is paramount. After that, finding ways to get them past whatever obstacles they face in having a real home again before next winter is the second most important goal. None of it will be easy, but anything worth doing is worth fighting for.

We can’t think of anything more honorable than helping others get off the streets and back in homes, and we’re thankful we have people like Stawecki leading the charge.””

Air mattresses, sheets, towels, food and other items were donated to the Waters Edge Gathering church in Lake Charles. The church opened its doors to the homeless Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019 due to the cold weather. (Rick Hickman/Lake Charles American Press)

Rick Hickman

    1c122ddb-2562-5c59-ab31-3381657a1f4a2019-09-27T22:45:13Zzsystem/importnwrh_0927_grandparents_day-2Rick Hickmanduring grandparents day at Gillis Elementary in Lake Charles, La., Friday, Sept.27, 2019. (Rick Hickman/Lake Charles American Press)””

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