Have You Heard of Southern Hospitality? Lynn Daniell of the Raleigh Rescue Mission Showed Me.

I couldn’t find parking so by the time I ran to the Raleigh Rescue Mission, I was already 10 minutes late for my meeting with the Executive Director, Lynn Daniell.  When he came out to meet me in the simple but beautifully maintained reception area, he wasn’t irritated at my tardiness.  He just said, “Don’t worry.  We’ll just walk a little faster!”  He gave me the tour of the facility, introduced me to his staff as we walked by, and even gave me a chance to speak to them about my project and ask questions.  Every single person I met seemed to be genuinely excited and happy about their work and the organization’s mission. Lynn explained later, “We all have our strengths and weaknesses as human beings, but we come together in unity of purpose, and our common faith.”  The Raleigh Rescue Mission is a Christian organization and proud of it.

The whole facility is clean and well-kept.  Even though it is a really old building (with several renovated sections and new additions), it looks loved and cared for.  As we walked through the Emergency Women’s Shelter, I noticed that the beds were neatly made for the homeless women who would arrive in a few minutes to spend the night.  “We respect the people who walk through our doors, and see their worth as human beings even though they are currently going through rough times,” explained Lynn.  I can’t really describe the feeling you get when you walk through the halls, but it is different from most homeless shelters.  It doesn’t feel like one!

In addition to the emergency shelter beds, Raleigh Rescue Mission houses men and women who commit to a long-term program that spans physical, mental, and spiritual recovery.  The organization believes in serving the whole person, and its approach is rooted in the Christian value system so it doesn’t accept or seek government funding.  I asked Lynn if the organization forces its religious and spiritual beliefs on the homeless people it serves.  He answered emphatically that it does not. “Everyone’s road to God is different.  We express our views.  We share our stories.  But ultimately, it is up to each person to decide what they believe.  Yes, our employees are Christians, because we are a Christian organization.  But we will never turn anyone away because they don’t share our beliefs. We don’t beat them over the head with the Bible either!”

I attended a Roman Catholic school growing up in India surrounded by nuns.  We recited the ‘Our Father in Heaven” prayer every day even though most of the school’s population came from Hindu families. India is full of these contradictions and allowances — so many faiths co-exist and saying a prayer doesn’t take on the fundamentalist fervor you see in the US.  A nun from my school would happily sit through a Hindu ceremony – and it wouldn’t upset or offend her in any way.  She knew what she believed.  But she respected that there were many ways to find God/spirituality. In fact, we all participated in each other’s religious and cultural festivals — it made life more interesting and colorful.

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There is a small medical and psychiatric clinic at the Raleigh Rescue Mission.  Friendly nurses and caseworkers smiled and said hello as we walked by.  I was impressed that the organization had these important services available right here on the premises.  They even have a preschool next door in a converted chapel — so single moms can get clean, or get a job, or whatever else they need to do to get back on their feet.

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Later, Lynn invited me to sit in on a meeting with a group of people who go into the woods and find the homeless living in tents or under bridges so they can minister to them.  These pastors see their role as bringing the Gospel to the poor and the homeless.  They were meeting to coordinate their ministry and humanitarian efforts.  Again, I didn’t share their passionate evangelism but I understood their faith was the driving force behind their relief work.  People can criticize evangelists (of any faith), but is it really fair to cast aspersions unless you are willing to step in and do the work yourself?  I don’t see anyone else trudging into homeless camps with casseroles and clean underwear.  One woman actually takes dirty laundry at one homeless camp, washes it and brings it back the next day.  All she wants is for you to bow your head and say a prayer with her.  She has complete faith that Jesus can save you.  When the 100,000 homes campaign wanted to count the number of chronically and critically homeless, they asked groups like these to help them.  I wonder how many social workers, case workers, or human services executives venture out into the woods to help the homeless?

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I have to say that Lynn Daniell showed me Southern Hospitality — the kind you read about and imagine when you think of the South.  He didn’t ask me if I was a Christian.  He was willing to share his knowledge, resources, and insights to help me on my quest with no pre-conditions.  I’m sure the Raleigh Rescue Mission gravitates to its natural partners — churches and faith-based groups that share its core beliefs.  But it seems open to collaboration with others.  Or as he put it, “The Raleigh Rescue can’t do it all.  Together, we can put together pieces of the puzzle.”

I asked Lynn about impact and metrics.  “My background is in manufacturing so I understand the importance of measurement.  But, when it comes to human beings, it’s not that black and white,” he said.  “We are fortunate that we are privately-funded so we can focus on healing the whole person.  For one person, it may be medical attention.  For another, it may be pastoral counseling.  Whatever it takes, we do our best.”

As I got ready to leave, I took one last look and realized that when you maintain a facility so well, and your employees are motivated and driven by a shared vision, people notice.  You won’t find any cans, bottles, needles, trash, graffiti anywhere.  Everyone in the long-term program does some work — laundry, cooking, cleaning, office support.  Lynn emphasized the need to develop a work ethic, “Our residents attend therapy sessions and GED classes, but they also work.  We believe it plays an important role in recovery.” My own mentor and friend Baba Amte always said, “Work builds, charity destroys” and I was glad to hear this was not a charity-only model.

While I don’t share the certainty of Lynn’s faith, I certainly admire his leadership.   Baba Amte reminded me when I was working on my book about him: “I am a follower of Christ but not the sort of Christian who says: “I have an executive meeting at 4:30 while there is a man dying in a gutter.”  Lynn Daniell and his team try each day to be true followers of Christ in the spirit of Baba Amte’s quote — at least, that’s the impression I got in my short visit to the Raleigh Rescue Mission.

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What do you think of the Raleigh Rescue Mission and its work?  Do you have an experience to share?  I’d love to hear from you.  Post a comment below, or send a private email to homelessincarolina@gmail.com

I will be following up with Lynn’s team to get their insights on the biggest gaps for the homeless in Wake County, and listening to their ideas on what I should focus on, given their one-on-one interactions, especially at Moore’s Square.

Seeing Tulsiram, Baba Amte’s Inspiration for Leprosy Work in a Homeless Man in Raleigh, North Carolina

I wrote a book about an Indian humanitarian named Baba Amte known for his social and environmental legacy.  Recently, when I went to serve food at the Salvation Army’s Soup Kitchen in Downtown Raleigh, I saw a man outside their front door who reminded me of Tulsiram, the dying leprosy patient that transformed Baba’s life and made him question everything.  I can’t get that man I saw at the Salvation Army’s doorstep out of my head.  I finally ‘feel’ Baba’s lifelong quest and why he challenged the status-quo.  Before I had only understood it intellectually.

Here’s Baba’s transformational story:

As the legend goes, Baba Amte was returning home after cleaning toilets one dark rainy night. It was drizzling slightly. He was carrying a basket of human waste on his head. Suddenly, Baba noticed something moving in a ditch. First he thought it was just a bundle of rags. But suddenly he realized it was actually a man. Baba described Tulshiram:

‘A man inthe ultimate stages of leprosy. A rotting mass of human flesh with two holes in place of a nose, without a trace of fingers or toes, with worms and sores where there should have been eyes.’

Baba ran away, terrified of contracting leprosy. He realized with shock that this was the first time that he had been conquered by fear. Baba returned and put a jute sackcloth on Tulshiram to shield him from the rain. He went through a period of mental anguish as he struggled with his fears of leprosy. He wrote later:

‘I have never been frightened of anything. Because I fought British Tommies to save the honour of an Indian lady, Gandhiji called me “abhay sadhak” – fearless seeker of truth. When the sweepers of Warora challenged me to clean gutters, I did so. But that same person who fought goondas and British bandits quivered in fright when he saw the living corpse of Tulshiram, no fingers, no clothes, with maggots all over. That is why I took up leprosy work. Not to help anyone, but to overcome that fear in my life. That it worked out good for others was a by-product. But the fact is I did it to overcome fear.’

– Excerpted from Wisdom Song: the Life of Baba Amte

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My Original Idea (I pitched this to Mayor Nancy McFarlane in an email)

Before I started work on the Listening Project, I wrote the Mayor of Raleigh, Nancy McFarlane an email, asking her advice on my idea for a community day center for the homeless.  She referred me to Ken Maness.  Ken gave me some history on a plan to buy an empty warehouse near the South Wilmington Men’s Shelter but he said it never got implemented.

I wrote to the Mayor wondering if she wanted to personally engage in this issue.  The city owns so many abandoned buildings that all it would take is to provide one of them.  I was told by the City of Raleigh Raleigh Estate folks that it’s very complicated to lease or buy a city-owned property (citizen advisory councils, bureaucracy, rules and regulations, etc. etc.).  Naive as I may be about all this red tape, I’ll never understand how a city can justify keeping buildings vacant and rotting when there are people dying on its streets.  After talking to Frank Lawrence, I’m convinced we can create $250-500/month housing too, with some of those empty properties, and make them revenue-positive for the city in the long-run too.

Below is the idea I pitched to Mayor McFarlane on Feb 8, 2012:

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The homeless around Moore’s Square seem to have a night-time shelter and meals.  But there isn’t much for them to do/places to go during the day.  So they sit in Moore’s Square.

If we could provide a space where the homeless could go to get computer skills, apprentice in a trade, play basketball, use the computers to do research, a small library, and a cafe, maybe we can create a win-win.

This space would be close enough that they could walk there. While donors would fund the initial expenses, the homeless members would be responsible for maintaining the place, cleaning it and performing chores in the cafe. Meeting rooms would be available for substance abuse and mental health counselors to meet with their clients.  The homeless could use the address for job applications and aid applications.  We would also have a movie theater and a set of educational programming.

It won’t be too fancy — but it will have an outdoor area, and enough indoor space so the homeless find it a great resource during the daytime hours. I’m sure some homeless people will wander back to Moore’s Square from time to time, especially around meal times at the shelter. But they won’t be hanging around there all day without any safe space of their own to go to.

I believe it will help the the downtown businesses around Moore’s Square and the other citizens engage in a productive way with the issue.  They have skin in the game too. 

QUESTION: do you know of a building that could be used for such a space?  Something that can be renovated with some TLC and be inexpensive to buy/rent.

Where I am right now:

At this point, all I’m trying to do is be open to all perspectives on the issue to come up with the best first step to take a bite out of this issue.

Eventually, housing is the solution, but I’ve heard there just isn’t enough affordable housing.  So this could be a first baby step.