Meet the Day Services Center Weekend Crew!
Did you know that Roof Above’s Day Services Center (DSC) is open 365 days a year? That means on holidays and weekends, rain or shine, the DSC is open to serve our neighbors experiencing homelessness. This wouldn’t be possible without our incredible weekend staff. Basic Service Specialists ensure neighbors visiting the DSC can check their mail, charge their phones, take a shower, or do laundry — all while greeting everyone with a warm welcome. Keep reading to meet Melanie, Tammy, Dawn, and Jonathan, four of our Basic Service Specialists who are part of the Day Services Center weekend crew!
Melanie
Melanie Williams joined the Roof Above team as a shelter specialist nine years ago and has been part of the weekend crew at the Day Services Center for five years. She first learned about Roof Above at her job during the week as a school social worker, because she was referring students and families experiencing homelessness to Roof Above for services. Through both her jobs, Melanie considers herself to be “a change agent.” Over the years, Melanie has built rapport with many of our neighbors and guests. “I look forward to communicating and checking in with them on Saturday to see how the week went, what wins and what losses they had, and just try to motivate them to keep going,” she says.
For Melanie, it’s important that the DSC is open on weekends because “we’re able to provide support to those that usually can’t come during the week but come on the weekend to get their clothes washed. I like to be here, knowing that they are fresh and clean and ready for the work week.” Melanie emphasizes that “you have to have a heart for the work we do here” and that the neighbors “will be taken care of on weekends because we make sure of it.”
Tammy
Tammy Hubbard has been part of the Roof Above team for over seven years. She started as a part-time shelter specialist and has been based at the Day Services Center as a Basic Service Specialist for the past two years. Combined with her other job as a registrar at a local school, Tammy’s seven-year commitment to Roof Above is tremendous. But when Tammy considers stepping away, she says, “It’s hard to even think about giving it up … I would miss the neighbors. It feels good to be able to see them and know that they’re OK.”
When Tammy compares working at the shelters to working at the DSC, she notes that at the shelters, she is working in someone’s home, whereas at the DSC, “You’re providing a service, and I feel like when they’re here, [the neighbors] get great service. We’ll accommodate whenever we can.” Tammy reflects, “I think the biggest thing is to have compassion and empathy … we love it here.”
Dawn
Dawn Cuffie is a nurturer. Before she started at Roof Above, Dawn took care of her father, and when he passed, Dawn found she needed an outlet to care for others. “When I was hired, I started feeling fulfilled again,” she says. “I needed to nurture.” When Dawn started as a shelter specialist six years ago, Tammy trained her. They’ve been working together ever since!
During the week, Dawn works at the Housing Authority (Inlivian), and she sees her work at Roof Above as an extension of her full-time job. “I see the people here, and then I also get to see them when we house them [through Inlivian] … I see everything come full circle.” Like Tammy, the neighbors are what bring Dawn back to the Day Services Center every weekend. “It’s just a sense of fulfillment and enjoyment to get to know them on that personal level. I’m all about building relationships, so I can stop and talk to them and ask about their kids or they may ask about mine. They know my favorite song, so we’ll break out into a little song session. That just gives a sense of joy and a sense of purpose.”
Jonathan
Jonathan Kelley has been with Roof Above for a long time – 13 years this September! Like Melanie, Tammy and Dawn, Jonathan started working at the shelters and has been at the Day Services Center for four years. This group of four has worked across a total of six campuses! In addition to the DSC, they’ve worked at both our Statesville Avenue shelters, the Howard Levine Men’s Shelter and the Lucille Giles Center, the North Tryon Men’s shelter, the Roof Above-operated hotel during Covid-19, and the Kings on Lamar transitional housing program for working men open during the pandemic.
During the week, Jonathan is a social worker for Mecklenburg County, which gives him a perspective he applies to his time at the DSC. “I can’t shut [my social worker background] off. Sometimes I learn about resources from the county that I’ll bring in here, and vice versa,” he says.
Jonathan’s favorite part of his job at Roof Above is “the success stories. Those that are coming to check mail and have their own place and you get to see them blossom. [Or neighbors] you’ve seen who, maybe when they first started coming, were kind of down, and now when you see them, good things have come their way, so they get brighter … that’s always a good thing to see.”