Meet Jim
Jim Dobbins first learned about Roof Above in 2021 through volunteering with Room in the Inn at his church, Covenant Presbyterian. When Jim’s pastor told him about Roof Above’s Housing and Employment Resource Centers (HERCs), she said volunteering there would be right up his alley. “To say she was right would be an understatement,” Jim says. “This is my happy place.”
Roof Above’s North Tryon Men’s Shelter and Howard Levine Men’s Shelter both have Housing and Employment Resource Centers, where guests can meet with a volunteer. Volunteers might help guests apply for food stamps, replace a lost Social Security card, or write a resume. Jim says that working in the HERC is all about “meeting guests where they are. Once you see them where they are, you can develop that bond.”
Seeing Ourselves in Kinship
Father Greg Boyle, founder and director of Homeboy Industries in California, frequently says that “the measure of our compassion lies not in our service of those on the margins but only in our willingness to see ourselves in kinship with them.” This is a guiding quote for Jim. Kinship, Jim finds, “is so important because it helps you to see these folks for who they are. Whether it really moves the needle in terms of getting them out of homelessness or not, the kinship itself is a worthwhile needle to move.”
Jim reflects on the connection he made with a man who has paranoid schizophrenia and who was convicted 20 years ago for second-degree murder. Jim helped him set up job interviews and even attended his move-in to transitional housing. While this man’s story made it challenging for him to find employment, Jim learned about his life and background while working with him on his housing and employment journey. There was so much more to him, beyond his initial story. “That’s this kinship thing,” Jim says.
In the HERC, Jim and other volunteers help guests access important resources for their journey towards stability and housing — but equally important is the ability to build relationships with shelter guests. When we see ourselves in kinship with our neighbors experiencing homelessness, we can “recognize our common bonds, as well as the meaningfulness of their stories.” Jim reflects, “That’s so important to ending homelessness.”