An informal contingent of advocates, social workers, educators and community leaders met Friday at The Walton Theater for the second meeting hosted by the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth and Reconciliation (CNTR) aimed at tackling homelessness in the Queen City.

Among those in attendance for the meeting were Alabama Rural Coalition for the Homeless (ARCH) Executive Director Felicia Jackson, Selma Municipal Court Judge Major Madison, Selma CNTR Executive Director Ainka Jackson, Dallas County Family Resource Center (DCFRC) Executive Director James Thomas, Gospel Tabernacle Pastor John Grayson and others.

Though the task before them is immense, as many expressed during the roundtable discussion, the group is actively creating a game plan by which it can best address the epidemic of homelessness in a city that appears to be replete with resources capable of stemming such a scourge.

That seems to be the crux of the group’s plan – collect information on the myriad of resources available to the homeless and poverty-stricken in the area and make it widely available to those in need and those looking to assist.

“That will be the key to finding out how we can best assist the homeless population as our work continues to grow,” said Felicia Jackson.

The group began its meeting by discussing the ways in which needy folks are currently finding information to resources – 211, a helpline operated by United Way and other non-profit organizations that provides those in need with a way to get access to local housing resources, is one of the main ways in which people in need of assistance are able to find out what resources are locally available and where they can be found.

Thomas noted that many people are directed to the DCFRC through 211’s services and Ainka Jackson proposed that local organization’s aim could be based more around promoting the service and propping up the efforts of organization’s already addressing the problem locally.

Also on hand for the meeting was Timfreit Drane, recently honored at the Broadcast Education Association’s (BEA) Festival of Media Arts for his autobiographical screenplay, who recounted some of his experiences with homelessness and drug addiction.

“For a long time, I thought homelessness and drugs were married together,” Drane said, adding that he sought treatment for his addiction about 10 times over 14 years until he met a person who provided him with “spiritual healing” that proved invaluable in helping him conquer his addiction.

“That’s what I bring: that knowledge,” Drane said, saying that any solution to homelessness has to focus on an effort to “revitalize the individual.”

To that end, Madison wondered how best the organization could provide information to a population struggling with mental health issues, substance abuse problems and more – Drane echoed many in the crowd when he responded that a physical place to go is the best way to help those in need.

For his part, Thomas asserted that the DCFRC is already operating as a place of that nature, putting those in need in contact with social workers who can assess their needs and direct them to the appropriate solutions.

“It’s very important, when a person comes in, that you identify their problems and send them to the right resources,” Thomas said. “I feel like that’s a good start.”

While Ainka Jackson agreed, she asserted that the most immediate need – before addressing deeper needs – is access to housing, food and other necessities.

“When people are in the moment…there has to be a place for them to go,” Ainka Jackson said.

Felicia Jackson agreed, noting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) policy of “Housing First,” meaning that a person must have a safe place to go before the “holistic piece” can be addressed.

“There’s some things that are done on a large, federal scale that we can tap into,” Felicia Jackson said.

Those in attendance briefly discussed services they would like to see make an appearance in the city, such as the home-building non-profit Habitat for Humanity, and the need for any future shelter or resource center to be easily accessible by foot.

At that, Thomas noted that the DCFRC is planning to relocate into downtown later this year, though a permanent location has not yet been selected.

Another woman in attendance took issue with what she described as years of “spinning our years,” saying that many movements aimed at tackling the problem have risen and fallen and made little impact.

“Once we lose them, they’re gone,” she said. “You see things going on, you see the families, you see the homeless – everything needs to go together in one place.”

Ainka Jackson proposed that the group might look into purchasing a small house in the city, which could hold a few beds and provide access to basic necessities on a temporary basis, and asked Felicia Jackson how difficult it would be to get it off the ground.

“Not hard at all,” Felicia Jackson responded, noting that ARCH could help staff the center with case management services. “Would I recommend that for Selma? Yes.”

Currently, in the absence of a local shelter, ARCH is using funds to house the homeless in area hotels, which only lends more confusion to the search for a solution, since the cost of a night in a hotel is significantly cheaper than staffing and keeping the lights on at a full-time facility.

“I think the model we’re using now is working,” Thomas said, again noting the variety of services offered by the DCFRC. “The problem is we don’t have the resources to do it on a bigger scale.”

“We should not see homeless people in Selma,” Felicia Jackson said. “There is funding available.”

Felicia Jackson noted that some of the funds allocated by HUD to address the issue on a community level return to the department because they haven’t been expended at the end of the year – the only thing this informal group needs to do to access and use those funds, Felicia Jackson said, is to coordinate local resources toward one, unified end.