Jeffrey Williams & the Good Samaritan

IT'S HARD not to be moved by the tragedy of Joseph Kelly Sr., who died early last week while rescuing Jeffrey Williams on the Vine Street Expressway.

Joseph Kelly Sr. sacrificed his life for a stranger. It's clear he's a hero.

It's also clear that his death was avoidable. It was the result of a system that failed Jeffrey Williams and that fails a growing number of homeless Philadelphians everyday.

Williams, a disabled and mentally ill man, was seeking shelter as he crossed the Vine Street Expressway a week ago on Monday morning.

This was after he was temporarily blacklisted from the city shelter system and was denied entry at one of the overcrowded church cafes that serve as a last refuge for the homeless.

How did we get here?

It's a matter of choices. For someone coming off the street like Williams, the choices are hard to believe.

His first option would be an overcrowded emergency shelter like the one at Ridge Avenue that houses hundreds in conditions which, as Mayor Nutter recently noted, "We wouldn't have pets sleep in."

If someone like Williams is lucky enough, he could get on the admittance list at one of the three church cafes.

The cafes were designed as a temporary measure to house those who traditionally won't go into the city shelter system and have spent previous winters on the street.

They don't offer a bed. Only a caring and committed staff and a spot in a chair or on the floor.

The Grace Café, to which Williams was denied entrance last Monday morning, was designed to safely accommodate 50 residents. By the time Williams was turned away, it was overflowing with 59.

While the church cafes couldn't save Williams, they have exploded the myth that those sleeping on the street won't go into a shelter. People will go in if they have a decent place to stay. And they will recover if they have the right services.

But we know this already. Philadelphia made gains in the late '90s as more services were invested, communication between the city and service providers increased, and more beds opened up. The street homeless population declined. Philadelphia was cited as a national model.

NOW THE TIDE has turned. The Center City street census reached 621 this summer, which was the highest since 1997 and double the count from four years ago.

The solutions are well known.

We need to overhaul the emergency shelter system and provide more safe beds for those coming off the street. We need more supportive housing units, better access to mental-health and drug and alcohol services, more job training, and more affordable housing.

This has become a matter of life and death. Williams is not alone. More than 60 homeless people died on the street last year in Philadelphia.

Joseph Kelly Sr. had a choice. He could have kept driving like the other motorists, but he put his life in danger to help a man who clearly needed it.

Let us honor him by celebrating his life and his tremendous sacrifice as well as by recommitting ourselves to those stranded on our streets. *

Aaron Couch is an advocate and a former safety monitor at the Grace Cafe. He can be reached at acouch@phillyimc.org.