For many families, this past weekend marked “moving in” day for their college students. My family spent a steamy Saturday afternoon hauling items up many flights of stairs (and on the elevator when we could get it!) into my daughter’s new dorm room. Throughout the move, I kept saying to myself, “Wow, where is she going to put all of …
For the last several weeks the Urban Ministry Center blog has featured stories about our staff members and the excellent work they do. We hope you enjoy learning about our team members and what they love about UMC. Back in high school in the small town of Fairmont, West Virginia, Dominique loved meeting people who were different. “I was that …
For the last several weeks the Urban Ministry Center blog has featured stories about our staff members and the excellent work they do. We hope you enjoy learning about our team members and what they love about UMC. Originally from Jamaica Queens, New York, Kennith moved with his family to Charlotte when he was 18. He misses the big city, …
For the last several weeks the Urban Ministry Center blog has featured stories about our staff members and the excellent work they do. We hope you enjoy learning about our team members and what they love about UMC. Screensavers on the backgrounds of desktops flashed lazily in the SABER computer area while Bob and I discussed his work. Here in …
For the last two weeks the Urban Ministry Center blog has been featuring stories about our staff members and the excellent work they do. We hope you enjoy learning about our team members and what they love about UMC. In her position as a Neighbor Services in-reach social worker at the Urb, Danielle listens to a lot of stories. This …
Last week the Urban Ministry Center blog began featuring stories about our staff members and the excellent work they do. We hope you enjoy learning about our team members and what they love about UMC. We sat down at Moore Place in the office that Joann Markley shares with three other case managers. I was curious to get to know her …
Over the next several weeks, the Urban Ministry Center blog will feature stories about our staff members and the excellent work they do. We hope you enjoy learning about our team members and what they love about UMC. Four years ago Adam Calderone was a college student studying political science at UConn, thinking about law school. Today he is an …
Urban Ministry Center’s Room in the Inn program is entering its final month of the season. The Room in the Inn (RITI) program began in 1996 with a goal of providing a warm, safe, and dry place for Mecklenburg County’s homeless population during Charlotte’s coldest months – December through March. Over 130 area churches and colleges throughout the Charlotte area …
As a VISTA Volunteer, I work on events for the development team at the Urban Ministry Center, and I am usually tucked away in an office with spreadsheets and press releases. But every morning during check in, I get the chance to be with our neighbors, and to be reminded of the purpose of all the fundraising we do in …
I saw him sitting on the stairs of the Epicenter, uncontrollably shaking and holding a cup out for money. I had never seen him before. As my Point in Time count team approached, he barely glanced up. “Good morning, my name is Allison and I work for Urban Ministry Center’s outreach team. We’re out checking on people who may have …
A break from our traditional format and instead we’d like to share this recently video produced by Mic about our StreetSoccer 945 Program.
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of coaching the Street Soccer U.S.A. national team at the Homeless World Cup in Glasgow, Scotland. It is always an amazing experience being at the Homeless World Cup, but this year was a little more special. For the first time, the U.S.A. team was able to implement a curriculum called the B.A.L.L program. …
What do people need most when they settle into housing after experiencing long periods of homelessness? For someone utilizing services at the Urban Ministry Center main campus, those needs can often be easier to identify. They need a hot lunch, an ID, a shower. For an individual moving off the streets and into permanent housing, those needs can be harder …
On Wednesday, June 15, Moore Place opened 35 new apartments to house chronically homeless citizens of Charlotte. These remarks are from that celebration. Thanks to Rachel Fesko for photographing the event. Good morning! My name is Caroline Chambre Hammock, and I serve as the Associate Executive Director for the Urban Ministry Center. In 2012, I had the great pleasure of welcoming you …
As the brand new “Inn Keeper” for Room In The Inn, I have been truly overwhelmed with the generosity and compassion that our community provides to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Room In The Inn is Urban Ministry Center’s emergency shelter program which operates each winter, December – March, since 1996. This past season I was privileged to organize 132 participants …
The foundation of our organization, the Soup Kitchen, embodies our mission like no other. It truly brings the community together to serve our homeless neighbors and it provides an environment of trust and relationship building to end homelessness. No Barriers A primary tenet of Urban Ministry Center is to offer programs with very low or no barriers to service. Literally …
Many nonprofits have holiday honor cards like Urban Ministry Center, but we think we may have one of the oldest traditions of production. We began offering them as a beautiful way to acknowledge honor gifts in 1999, when artist Ingrid Amol’s sketched our beloved Train Depot. As a volunteer, Ingrid helped create the ArtWorks 945 program, and in 2002 we …
Blog post by Liz Clasen-Kelly with Trish Fries Each year since 2010, Urban Ministry Center has taken one day (usually in September or October) to collect information on the neighbors visiting our main campus at 945 N College St. This year we conducted the survey on a cool Monday morning in October. Here are a few observations. Overall decrease: 432 …
They called him, “Captain America.” Street Soccer 945 player, Thomas Yon, stood proud in a patriotic jersey, branded with the infamous star-centered shield as he defended the goal for the United States at the 13th Annual Homeless World Cup in Amsterdam two weeks ago. Thomas joined eight other U.S. team members, both male and female, at this eight day, international …
This season continued a trend we’ve seen over the past few seasons: we had virtually the same number of hosts, neighbors, and beds as we had last year the evening teams welcomed new folks and handled their tasks – including the “dueling computers” at each check-in station – with efficiency and a remarkable spirit the hosts graciously welcomed …