The Power of One

The statistics on homelessness in the Philadelphia region are so daunting that they can crush the will to help.

In the city, more than 7,000 people live in emergency shelters or transitional housing.

An additional 400 or so survive on the streets.

In the surrounding seven Pennsylvania and New Jersey counties, the homeless can be virtually invisible, yet their numbers are no less overwhelming.

About 3,000 people are in temporary housing, while more than 600 live unsheltered on streets, in cars, in abandoned homes, in woods.

But along with this deluge of data, there is an often-overlooked number to consider:

One.

One person with a home, or a bit of money, or extra time connecting to one with nothing.

One mother in Montgomery County who had nowhere to go three years ago and now is helping another homeless woman find her way.

One pastor in West Philadelphia opening an empty parsonage to a 74-year-old retired movie stuntman languishing in a homeless hospice.

One dentist, one runner, one soccer coach.

One purpose.