An Education in Homelessness by Christine Odom, NC Director of Habitat for Humanity

Christine Odom really cares about the homeless.  She’s worked with the population before her job at Habitat, and she’s dealt with every possible obstacle to creating affordable housing there is.  She challenged me to mingle without any introduction from social workers or case workers with the homeless so I can hear the honest truth about their reality.  She shared stories from her past to help me avoid some of the obstacles she faced.  “Make sure you have a tight plan.  Think about what would happen if you got run over by a truck.  Can your project go on without you?  Do you have enough budgeted for the maintenance expenses of your project once it gets off the ground?  Look for similar projects and dissect their budgets.  Then create something that will be sustainable.”

I asked Christine if she’s aware of any best practices in housing the homeless.  She mentioned SHINE in San Francisco and Friendship Village and Shepherd House as two others I should look at.  She also had some valuable advice regarding the construction process — from whom to partner with, the contingencies to plan for, to issues like transportation and zoning.

I cannot thank her enough for her time and advice.  Invaluable!

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.

What I’ve Learned About Homeless Shelters in Wake County

There is a real shortage of beds at all the homeless shelters right now. Most shelters have long waiting lists in Wake County.

There are also certain groups that the shelters can’t currently help. For example:

Mike at the Raleigh Rescue Mission says there is no shelter that currently accepts single men with children.

• I wonder what this group does when they find no shelter? If anyone knows the answer, please let me know.
• How many men with kids need access to a shelter in Wake County?

Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network is a day shelter that sends families to local area churches to sleep at night. Their 12 week program seems to be the only one that doesn’t split up families based on gender. Most other shelters are men only or for women and children. But Wake Interfaith can’t accept families with children over 18 and they recently couldn’t help a single mother with an older disabled son.

Though all the agencies and shelters in the area try their best to refer families elsewhere when they can’t help them, I couldn’t figure out if there is a central authority that is responsible for making certain homeless citizens don’t fall through the cracks? Recently, the Women’s Center and Pan Lutheran Ministries (both help women and children) started coordinating their intake efforts and this should help make things better for women.

From what I can tell, each agency or nonprofit barely has the resources to focus on its own mission and core services. Some agencies have closed down due to funding cuts.
Due to a lack of good public transportation, it’s impossible to get to the resources that are still available.

A complete list of shelters in Wake County is at: http://www.wakegov.com/humanservices/housing/homeless/default.htm

Of course, the shelters have lost some of their government funding and donations have also dropped during the recession, so if you can donate money, I’m sure they would appreciate it.

I’m still trying to connect with the Raleigh Rescue Mission and the South Wilmington Men’s Shelter.  I’ve been told that the Men’s Shelter works on a lottery system because there aren’t enough beds available each night.

There are changes in regulation coming.  From what I’ve been told, the government is trying to limit the stay at shelters so there is a sense of urgency to find permanent housing for those who are homeless.

I still have a lot to learn about this, but I’ve made a start.  I welcome your insights, especially if you help manage a homeless shelter, or have stayed in one.

Update:

Spoke with Frank Lawrence at the South Wilmington Street Homeless Shelter for Single Men…  Wrote a detailed blog post of our conversation. 

Matching Homeless Needs to Community Talents

I’d like to create a database to match the needs of the homeless in Wake County with the talents of citizens willing to give them a hand up.  Since I’m not a programmer, I’ll need to find a non-techie way to build it or find someone willing to help me out.

My sense is there are many people who would like to help but they don’t have unlimited time and resources.  They also want to be part of something bigger so their small contribution makes a real difference.

My conversations with social workers, nonprofit leaders, and most importantly, the homeless in our area will inform this seed of an idea and test its viability. Here are some use cases I’ve been brainstorming:

• Chronically homeless woman needs substance abuse counseling.  A psychiatrist with experience in that area agrees to provide free services for one patient. We have a match!
• Child of a homeless couple needs dental work done.  A dentist agrees to do the work pro-bono.  We have a match!
• Man who has been clean and sober for 2 months needs a mentor who can help him find a job.  A student at NCSU offers to mentor one person.  We have a match!
• Woman needs day care for her two-year old daughter when she goes for interviews.  Drop-in child care center offers free hours till she finds a job.
• Homeless veteran really wants to be a plumber.  Plumbing company agrees to provide an apprenticeship.  If the veteran is able to complete all the educational credits, plumbing company agrees to offer him a job.

At first, I was thinking we needed a computer lab or a restaurant business run by the homeless but that will require a lot of funds.

This matching idea may be a great first step.