Community Corner

Hometown Hero: Dru Szczerba Removes Barriers for Homeless

The door stays open at the Welcome Inn in Royal Oak for those in need.

Things are never easy for the poor, but when a homeless couple was arrested in the slaying of an elderly Royal Oak woman in November, things somehow managed to get even tougher for those seeking shelter and assistance.

Some of the neighbors of the Welcome Inn Day Center — a daytime safe haven for the homeless located in the Unity Church on Crooks Road in Royal Oak — seized upon the tragedy to raise objections to the drop-in center.

The center, which started in 2000, assists the homeless population in Royal Oak who use evening and overnight programs but who have few places to go during the day except the streets and public buildings.

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“They were saying, ‘See? We told you this would happen,’ ” said Dru Szczerba, who was hired in 2011 as the executive director of the center. “They wanted to shut the door on the Welcome Inn. Then, finally, a woman in the neighborhood stood up to them and said, ‘We are not talking about the homeless committing this act. We are talking about criminals who did this.’ ”

The violent act had already had a ripple effect on some of the center’s guests’ ability to earn a few extra dollars.

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“It was devastating to our people,” Szczerba said. “No one wanted to hire them anymore to do odd jobs. That is how many of them survive.”

Szczerba, who lives in Bloomfield, said the neighborhood woman’s words caused people to have a change of heart about the center, which operates from 6 a.m.-5 p.m., providing social services and shelter from the elements from mid-December to mid-March.

“People have so much misinformation about the homeless,” Szczerba said. “You can’t just make sweeping statements about them.”

Love thy neighbor

There is no one-size-fits-all when it to comes why a person comes to the Welcome Inn. He or she could have a mental illness or problems with addiction and no family or network for support, Szczerba said.

“Some of the people here have been told they were stupid or worthless their whole life," she said. “We tell them we won’t give up on you, and God won’t give up on you. When they have a bump in the road, we tell them tomorrow is a new day. Never quit."

“Our guests and volunteers are loving and amazing people,” she said. The center has an atmosphere of respect and nurturing.

Szczerba guessed there are as many as 100 volunteers who help in some shape or form. The center serves 30-40 guests daily.

Volunteers stop by with food items or to donate their services, such as giving the guests free haircuts. Beaumont Hospital has also been a wonderful partner, providing medical students to treat the sick when they have no other health options, Szczerba said.

There is even a volunteer dog, Freddy, that stops by to cheer people up.

The center provides computers, showers, laundry facilities, clothes, boots, nurses, social workers, yoga instruction, backpacks, addiction counseling and more.

Making a difference

Charlie Haviland was homeless in the winter of 2004-05. He spent his days at the Welcome Inn. Diagnosed with mental illness and depression in 1995, he drank his way onto the streets.

"Drinking became more important than paying bills," he said. In May 2005, Haviland was arrested for drunken driving and using a friend's credit card to buy nearly $500 worth of alchohol. He spent 21 months in prison. When he got out, he managed to turn his life around. Today, he lives in Franklin and is a playwright and public speaker.

But that winter at the Welcome Inn stands out to Haviland.

"They helped me see doctors. They helped me get glasses. They helped me stay alive until God took over," he said. "They did for me what I could not do for myself."

Szczerba was not the executive director of the center in 2005, but she and Haviland work together now. He stops by the Welcome Inn and speaks to the guests.

"I can tell when someone cares," he said. "Dru cares. She is the proper steward for that mission."

Szczerba said the job changed her life.

“I have a strong faith,” she said. “I believe God put me here. I pray every day that I can make someone feel special and loved and that I will do something that makes a difference for someone’s life.”

Szczerba told the story of a guest who was waiting for a check to arrive. Every day, the woman worried about when her money would come. Finally, a check came to her. Szczerba said she watched the woman make a card.

“She gave me the card and inside it said, ‘Thank you for all you do for us,’ ” Szczerba said. “And it had $40. This woman had nothing, and yet she gave me $40.”

Wish list

The Welcome Inn somehow manages — by the grace of God — to get by, Szczerba said. Considering all the people the center helps, she has a relatively small wish list.

“The thing we want the most is employment for our guests,” she said. Some people at the center have worked their whole lives and never dreamed they would find themselves homeless, she said.

To that end, teeth are important. “It’s hard for someone to want to hire you when you are missing teeth,” Szczerba said. She would love to find someone willing to provide dental care for her guests.

Another challenge for guests is simply not looking homeless. Szczerba said backpacks, even used ones, are desperately needed.

“These people have to carry everything they own with them,” she said. When people have to use plastic bags, they look homeless, and sometimes that means they won’t be welcomed at certain places, she said. With backpacks, they are more accepted.

The last item on Szczerba's list is gas money for transportation. “It’s very expensive for us to make all our runs,” she said.

At 5 p.m., the guests are moved to Starr Presbyterian Church in an old SMART bus the center bought for $1. At 8 p.m., the guests are transported once again to area churches for dinner and overnight sleeping accommodations.

Szczerba said she is grateful for the bus, but it gets only 8 miles per gallon.

"The Welcome Inn gives hope where there is not faith. They give hope where there is not joy," said Haviland. "They give hope where there is fear."

Luckily, hope is free and abundant at Welcome Inn; everything else, it needs. If you are able to help with a donation of some kind, please call 248-561-2094 or visit the website at sochwelcomeinn.org.


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