Half a Mile Away From Homelessness

The city of Huntsville is growing and so is its homeless population.  And Alabama is not unique in these changes.  According to HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge in a recent press release, “Homelessness in the United States was increasing even before COVID-19, and we know the pandemic has only made the crisis worse.” The increase…

Tom Roper’s Story

The “Why” Behind What We Do Our Day Center provides meals, showers, access to laundry facilities — services to meet the immediate needs of the homeless community. However, the magic of First Stop lies in the strength of our case management program. Our Homeless-to-Housed case managers work diligently with clients, assessing individual barriers and developing…

Only Half a Mile Away

In one of his lesser-known songs called Half A Mile Away, Billy Joel describes a world he escaped to as a youth to get away from some of the unpleasant realities of his regular life. In this world, he was with his friends laughing, telling stories (and lies), and flirting with girls. He describes this…