Homelessness increasingly affecting families, children

Nov. 16--ALBANY -- While the vulnerability of the city's homeless to petty thefts of the little possessions they may have and to the weather extremes of cold and heat is well known, the recent murder of Teresa Lynn Cole brought a new realization to their plight.

Albany police say that Cole was sexually assaulted and murdered while onlookers watched but did nothing to assist her. Her body was dumped on the 300 block of West Oglethorpe Boulevard.

"I knew Ms. Teresa," David Blackwell, chairman of the Albany-Dougherty Coalition to End Homelessness, said. "I know I had seen her. She was always pleasant and kind.

"She wanted to get out of her living situation, but she never could."

The circumstances of Cole's death were particularly troubling for Blackwell.

"This is a sad indictment on our culture that we stand and watch -- with our cellphones in our hands and just watched," he said. "Her death was right out in the open at one of our busiest intersections. It was (almost) right across the street from the police station."

Albany City Commissioner B.J. Fletcher has identified one of those at the scene as a law enforcement officer. The officer is not a member of the Albany Police Department.

Officials have not revealed that person's name.

"It was a shock at first," Blackwell said of the slaying. "Sad, second. Then, when I found out there were bystanders, that angered me. And then the possibility that there was a law enforcement officer there, that was even more frustrating."

Mental health and substance abuse issues are the main drivers that result in people living on the streets, but Blackwell said he had no information that Cole struggled with either.

However, domestic violence is also increasingly leading to homelessness as women seek to leave abusive situations.

This week Blackwell encountered a woman from Pennsylvania with children who ended up in Albany. The woman had a relative in the city but was no longer able to live at that relative's home.

"The face of homelessness isn't just the face of a man with mental health issues now," he said. "Today, I see families with children."

The Pennsylvania woman and her children were admitted to Liberty House, a local home for victims of domestic violence.

Albany Police Department Chief Michael Persley has announced an effort to bring organizations together to address some of the mental health and addiction issues.

Homeless people may have little to steal, but often they lose their means of transportation to theft.

"Bicycles get stolen a lot of times," Blackwell said.

Possessions that can't be carried around with them, such as sleeping bags, also are potential targets.

Blackwell also suspects that women are targeted for sexual assault and may be reluctant to report those crimes.

Both Persley and Fletcher have reached out to him, Blackwell said.

The most effective way that people can help the homeless population here is by donating to the Salvation Army, he said. The organization feeds two meals, six days a week, and one on Sunday.

A recent Point in Time Homeless County compiled by the state showed that homelessness has increased for the first time in eight years.

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