CLAUDIA LOUCKS
Barb Montgomery, a retired educator, and her husband, Tom, started the Have a Heart for the Homeless luncheon nine years ago as a way to advocate for the people who are experiencing homelessness.
This year’s luncheon is noon Saturday, Feb. 12 Bally’s, 777 Bally Blvd., Rock Island.
Barb says the event will help brighten Valentine’s Day for the approximately “535 individuals who are homeless or marginalized.” Of those, about 77 are veterans, she said.
The idea for the event was sparked during her last year of teaching at United Township, when Barb had a student in her class who was experiencing homelessness.
“I found out that she and her mother could not get into any shelter,” Barb said. “They had to go stay in a shelter in Clinton, Iowa, and that disturbed me greatly.”
Much of that disturbance came from her past experiences — Montgomery’s father had post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from World War II.
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“I loved my father dearly,” she said. “He served 30 years in the United States Air Force, but there was no counseling after World War II. My father was older and he was 39 when I was born.”
Her heart “went out to my student and I just had to do something, and I thought, ‘I’m retired, I can do what I want,'” so she launched the annual luncheon.
Attendance has grown at the luncheon, from about 42 in its first year to 261 in 2020. Last year the event raised more than $15,000 but had to be virtual because of the pandemic.
Proceeds are split between the two shelters, Christian Care and Humility Homes and Services, formerly known as Humility of Mary.
“As the event gets larger, so does the need,” Montgomery said. “They house individuals of all ages daily, and now additionally for the winter have accepted King’s Harvest’s responsibility. The need is great.”
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