Richard ‘Dale’ Sword found dead in vacant house; How you can help the homeless

Richard “Dale” Sword was found dead in a house in Manassas on Thursday, November 14. According to Sgt. Gio Barahona from Manassas police, Sword was found in a vacant house in the 1000 block of Dumfries Road.

While the autopsy for the cause of death is still underway, according to Barahona, Sword, who was homeless, was exposed to record-breaking cold the night before he was found dead. Temperatures dropped to 19 degrees on November 13, according to National Weather Service records.

“Our ministry served Dale for the past two and a half years, as he experienced homelessness. We will miss his smile and kind heart very deeply,” states Manassas Hunger & Homeless Outreach Ministries on its Facebook page. “Dale was always positive, polite, warm and loving. He will be missed by all of us whose lives he touched.”

The region has several shelters, according to Prince William County spokesman Jason Grant. In all, there are five shelters for a total of 204 beds in Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park. These are:

Shelters serving singles and families:  

• Hilda Barg
• Beverly Warren
• SERVE

Domestic Violence Shelter serving singles and families:

• Turning Points

There are also two hypothermia shelters, for an additional 32 beds.

• Additional 12 beds at the Overnight Shelter (Based on 32 degrees or lower)
• Additional 20 beds at Manassas Baptist Church (Based on 27 degrees or lower)

Grant said that most of the emergency shelters are at full capacity even in warm weather. 

The Manassas Baptist Church in Manassas has a hypothermia shelter for anytime the temperature drops below freezing. It was open the night before Sword was found.

Jay Sharpe runs the Manassas Hope for the Homeless at the Manassas Baptist Church on Sudley Road. It has a Hypothermia Shelter open on select nights during the winter, but the church can’t be open every day due to limited space.

Sharpe said they open if the windchill factor brings the temperature down below 28 degrees or if the air temperature drops to  25 degrees or lower.

When it’s that cold, the shelter sees about 10 to 12 people. When it’s in the teens and single digits, “We pretty much got a full house,” Sharpe said. Sharpe added that they provide a shower, a hot meal, and conversation when the hypothermia shelter is open.

Sharpe pointed out that some homeless people don’t want to come into a hypothermia shelter unless it is brutally cold because they are reluctant to leave their spot and are worried their things will get taken while they’re gone.

Despite that reluctance, Sharpe said that “When the temperatures get cold enough, they rethink their situation,” he told me, noting that when temperatures dip below 20 degrees is when people start to come in.

The shelter served over 54 homeless last year, Sharpe said, and the shelter can house up to 30 people- 20 men in the main area and 10 women in the back area, Sharpe explained.

They’ve been open for four days so far this winter. “We always need more volunteers,” Sharpe said.

For that, they turn to local governments for help.

“Some of the local churches in the city open warming centers and if they let us know we definitely help spread the word,” said Manassas spokeswoman Patty Prince.

Manassas provides funding to the SERVE shelter located on Dean Drive, Prince explained.

According to Grant at Prince William County, the county offers many services for the homeless, including mental health and substance abuse services, rapid rehousing for those who have been evicted, and employment programs. 

Grant told me that if someone is at risk of becoming homeless or is homeless, call Prince William County’s Coordinated Entry Services Program at 703-792-3366.

The program is a part of The Prince William Area Continuum of Care – a group made up of charities, churches, and governments- and provides services and housing to those facing homelessness.