Grassroots Charlotte
Kathy was urged by her mother to read, The Same Kind of Different as Me, authored by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. It told the unlikely story of a friendship between Hall, an affluent art collector, and Moore, a chronically homeless man at the time. “That book starting haunting me,” said Izard, who had been volunteering at the Urban Ministry Center since 1995. “I kept thinking about it,” she said. As Kathy tells it, the book kept her awake at night until, one day, she sent an email to Ron Hall asking him and Denver Moore to speak at the Urban Ministry Center. It was a shot in the dark. To her surprise, Hall returned her email and agreed to a speaking engagement, one that had yet to be created. “There was no speaking engagement,” laughs Izard.”It was just an idea I hadn’t told anyone about including Dale Mullennix.” Mullennix is the
Grassroots Charlotte
Executive Director at the Urban Ministry Center. What followed was the very first True Blessings luncheon on November 16, 2007. The day before the event, Kathy took Denver on a tour, showcasing the wonderful programs and services offered by the Urban Ministry Center including the soup kitchen, the Artworks program and Community Garden. She describes Moore as a man of few words. “He doesn’t speak much but, when he does, it seems to come from an otherworldly place.” During the obligatory tour, Denver kept his hands in his pockets, staying silent. Finally, he spoke. “Where are the beds?” he asked. Kathy explained that there were no beds. The Urban Ministry Center provides a wealth of supportive services to Charlotte’s homeless population, but beds and shelter were not one of them.
STAY INFORMED, HELP THE NEEDY, GET INVOLVED.
www.speakup.com
Then, the infamous question. “You mean to tell me, you do all this good in the day and you lock them out to the bad at night? Does that make any sense to you?Flabbergasted, Kathy shook her head no. Denver asked, “Are you going to do something about it?” Admittedly, Kathy didn’t know. She was a volunteer. The event she worked on with friends was somewhat of a phenomenon, created by happenstance as a result of a “pie in the sky” email to Ron Hall. As they left the Center, Moore looked at Kathy and reassured her, “You don’t have to be scared.” “About what?” She assumed he was referring to the audience of 1100 people that were attending True Blessings the next day. “About building the beds,” said Denver. “They already know they are coming” Unsure of what Denver was saying, Kathy asked, “Who?” She pauses and repeats Denver’s words to her, “The people who are going to help you.” That moment, Kathy says, changed her life. It also became the impetus for the development of Moore Place. That same year, the Charlotte Observer published an op-ed piece by Liz ClasenKelly, Urban Ministry Center employee, which discussed the benefits of Housing First, a progressive housing model which
had garnered significant positive outcomes in cities such as Denver, Seattle, Salt Lake City and New York. Those cities reported a remarkable reduction in homelessness and significant savings in tax-payer assisted services such as emergency room visits, jail stays and temporary shelters. That Observer article caught the attention of local philanthropists Jon and Pat Moore. Consequently, the Moore’s had also seen a recent television piece on the show 60 Minutes about Common Ground, a New York based non-profit that pioneered Housing First programs, most notably in Times Square. . The subject impacted the couple enough to warrant a phone to their friend Dale Mullennix, Executive Director of the Urban Ministry Center. They asked about the possibility of Housing First solutions in Charlotte. The simple answer to that question, Mullennix explained, was a pilot project to
test the concept. In May 2008, Homeless to Homes (H2H) was launched as a result of a generous donation provided by Jon and Pat Moore. The pilot project moved its first four residents into apartment units scattered throughout Charlotte and has since added twenty more. Joann Markley, case manager for Homeless to Homes recorded impressive results within the first few months. Immediately following the successful implementation of H2H, the Urban Ministry Center along with key individuals within the community got to work on Moore Place. A vulnerability index was conducted in 2010 to count Charlotte’s chronically homeless. The Urban Ministry Center recruited Common Ground to assist. Representing the New York nonprofit was Caroline Chambre, who served as technical advisor to the survey. Chambre came bearing
extensive experience, having managed a permanent supportive housing building in Times Square that singlehandedly reduced homelessness within a 20-block radius by 87 percent. Turns out, this was the same building featured on 60 Minutes the day that Jon and Pat Moore were watching. Chambre, a native Charlottean, returned soon after completing the vulnerability index to become the Director of Housing Programs for the Urban Ministry Center. The opportunity to contribute to bringing a Housing First model to her hometown was an opportunity she could not miss. Since then, Chambre along with the time and talent of many Charlotteans have nurtured the housing development to fruition. “Moore Place is an opportunity for Charlotte to say that homelessness is a solvable problem,” says Chambre. “It is a just, compassionate way to approach the housing dilemma.” To Chambre, Moore Place is a viable beginning, something that can be replicated. So far, it is a clear message that the community problem of homelessness can and is being solved by the collaboration of a just and caring community. What was once a thought-provoking question has become a new housing frontier in Charlotte.
SPEAK UP MAGAZINE
29