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A place for shelter and second chances

November 7, 2009 12:36 am

BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

The smell of fresh paint mixes with wood dust. The loud "click, clack, click" of an pneumatic staple gun competes with the softer "tap, tap, tap" of a hammer.

Two men work side by side, in silence mostly. But occasionally, they stop for some banter.

But they're working to a silent rhythm: the "tick, tock" of a clock.

The new cold-weather shelter on State Route 3 in southern Stafford should be completed before nighttime temperatures dip below freezing. Organizers hoped to have renovations completed by late October, but the shelter is still a work in progress.

And so are two of its most loyal workers: Calvin Thomas and Thomas Gum. For many of the area's homeless, the little red building on Route 3 east will provide a refuge from freezing nights.

But the former school has already provided something even more precious for Thomas and Gum: a chance to turn their lives around.

Early this summer, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors approved the former Little Falls School as a cold-weather shelter to be run by Micah Ecumenical Ministries.

The faith-based group had just three months to turn a dusty storage building into a winter homeless shelter. Area businesses, churches, civic groups and private donors stepped forward to make it happen.

Banks sent volunteers to paint, philanthropist Doris Buffett gave $68,000, businesses discounted supplies and churches provided labor.

But from the beginning, Micah director Meghann Cotter thought the building could be just the opportunity some of Micah's clients needed.

She offered the homeless a place to stay in exchange for work at the shelter. Throughout the three months, several showed up intermittently to help.

But Thomas and Gum consistently worked full days.

"They were here the first day we started working," Cotter said. "And they'll be there the last day."

For Thomas, the project came just in time. The Northern Virginia native spent more than 20 years in jail for a breaking and entering conviction when he was 22.

He was 46 when he got out and faced a completely new world: where toilets flushed themselves, gas stations offered flavor shots for soda and even preschoolers knew how to work computers.

"I saw this stuff on Star Trek, and here it is," Thomas said. "It was a transition, and Micah, they made the transition a little bit easier. Without their help, I might have done something crazy and gone back in."

He found Micah, where he got hot breakfasts, donated clothes and help tracking down his birth certificate.

He got out of jail in July, and in early August, he volunteered to help get the cold-weather shelter ready. He has swept floors, painted walls, laid tile and just about anything else that needed to be done.

Thomas hopes the months spent fixing up the shelter have prepared him for a regular job. But those are hard to find, and he worries that next week, he'll be back to the streets.

He jokes often about finding a bridge for shelter. But beneath his friendly demeanor, Thomas worries.

The shelter rehab work has rehabilitated him. And he wonders if life on the street will increase the temptation to turn back to his old life.

"If you don't have anything to do, you're going to do some foolishness," Thomas said. "But constructive work leads to constructive thoughts."

The work also helped Gum. He had also just been released from jail when the shelter work started.

Gum, 27, spent four days living on the street with neither food nor a shower. He knew about Micah, but didn't want to ask for help.

Gum used to have a good income as a skilled plumber, he said.

He had two passions: working and partying. And for a while, he could maintain both.

But in 2007, Gum was faced with a double whammy: a looming recession and a divorce.

The latter led him to "some foolish decisions" and the former made it harder for Gum's bosses to ignore his drinking.

He lost his job but picked up temporary work here and there. This summer, he served a few days in jail for a misdemeanor. When he got out, he had nowhere to go.

After four days, he broke down and went to Micah to ask for help. He had lost his last bit of pride.

But at Micah, staff talked about the new project.

And Gum immediately volunteered.

Cotter said she could tell the difference his first day on the job.

"You could see the life come back into him," she said. Cotter started calling him Gloworm. The moniker stuck.

"I was down and out, and this work brought a spark back," he said.

Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973
Email: aumble@freelancestar.com