A Quiet Man

Fred Phillips (with Mboyo Metzel) on winter outreach a few years back.

Fred Phillips was a quiet man who originally hailed from Marked Tree, Arkansas. He was thoughtful and soft spoken. A few years ago he was a human services student at Gateway Technical College and did his field service at HOPES Center. He met with people as they came into the HOPES Center lobby to help find out what their needs were and how they could be met. He also served on our street outreach team.

While on street outreach together, Fred spoke about having been homeless himself and his own struggles. HALO, our local shelter, had helped him turn his life around and he was still in a permanent supportive housing program as he was going to school at Gateway. He was part of a three-person outreach team that went out on Sunday nights through one cold and snowy winter, locating and engaging with people who were living outside. We was a great listener and man of few words while conducting outreach. But when he spoke to someone who was homeless he always had the right words of encouragement. We were looking forward to a second field placement with Fred, but he was struggling with a health condition and had to take a break from school for a while. He continued t to serve the community though and was a member of HALO’s board of directors.

Only July 6th Fred passed away. He will be laid to rest today and will be missed by so many of us in the community. It was a pleasure having served with him in the field and watch him at work serving others.

- scott metzel

Fred Phillips on street outreach: Winter 2018