Keeping things clean is ‘constant battle’ at Friendship Park homeless sanctuary

More than 100 people are in line most mornings well before 7 a.m. when the gates open at Friendship Park, the service hub at Loaves & Fishes in north Sacramento.

Among the earliest of those arriving is Mark, a 62-year-old military veteran who has been homeless for four months after losing a manufacturing job he held for 17 years.

“This here is like a sanctuary for me and a lot of people,” Mark said after entering the half-acre park that fronts Sacramento’s largest homeless support organization.

The more than 600 daily visitors at Friendship Park can help themselves to coffee from 10-gallon urns, get a full breakfast and lunch, take a shower, put their pets in a kennel, lock away valuables, access myriad social services and just relax until the park closes for the day at 2:45 p.m.

“This is a one-stop-shop, a place where our guests can connect with other people and get anything from help with Social Security to getting a shower,” said George Kohrummel, the park’s director. Kohrummel spends most of his shift right on the grounds and seems to know just about every visitor by name.

Kohrummel said the highlight of his day is greeting people when the gates open, offering a smile, coffee and a safe place for people who often are coming in from a cold, dangerous and lonely night sleeping on nearby streets.

One of his least favorite tasks is keeping the park clean and hygienic – a challenge when many of the visitors otherwise live in worlds touched by grime and disease.

Currently, Kohrummel’s employees spend 30 hours a week cleaning the grounds with mops, pails of water and brooms. His organization is asking Book of Dreams readers for money this year to acquire a power washer and blower to make that task faster and more effective.

Providing a clean environment is part of the mission statement for Loaves & Fishes, which has been in operation since 1983. But keeping the park clean is “a constant battle,” said Bill Granby, a volunteer who was briefly homeless a year ago, sleeping in the streets, and now credits Loaves & Fishes with getting him back on track.

“They gave me food, shelter and a place to feel like I belonged,” he said, taking a break from his mopping duties. Helping out, he added, is “my giveback.”

As for the power washing equipment, he said, it would help make the place “a lot more hygienic.”

Noel Kammermann, executive director of Loaves & Fishes, said the goal of Friendship Park is to provide a buffer from the elements – a clean and relaxing place that helps homeless people pursue the journey of getting disrupted lives back together.

That’s just the ticket for Mark, the Army veteran who asked that his last name not be used so that his relatives don’t try to find him. “They have their own burdens,” he said.

He sleeps each night on nearby Ahern Street, gets up at 5 and is in line at the park by 5:30, he said. He spends a little time looking for work – a task made more complicated by his age.

“They figure if you’re in your 60s, you’re only going to work for a few years,” he said. “There’s all those stereotypes about seniors.”

He’s grateful for the generosity of people he’s met on the street and at Loaves & Fishes.

“I didn’t know how kind people were in Sacramento until I fell this far down,” he said.

As for the park, he adds: “It’s a big bonus to have this here. I wouldn’t know what to do without it.”

The request

Needed: Funds to purchase power equipment to help in the daily cleaning work at Friendship Park.

Cost: $1,200