Urban Ministries of Wake County Spring Skylines 2020

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URBAN MINISTRIES OF WAKE COUNTY | SPRING 2020

COVID-19 RESPONSE A letter from our Executive Director, Dr. Peter Morris, about our response to the COVID-19 crisis and adapting to these unprecedented times.

INSPIRING OTHERS Rose graduated from our longterm program at Helen Wright Center for Women and wants to use her story to inspire others.

SECOND CHANCE

Brian got a second chance at life in more ways than one. He was cured of a disease and got his life back on track thanks to our Open Door Clinic and two partner agencies.

FEEDING OUR NEIGHBORS

We saw a great increase in the need for our food pantry once the COVID-19 pandemic hit. See how we did it and what we plan for the future.

COMMUNITY PARTNER

Duke Health is recognized as our community partner.

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Meet Matthew Hedrick, a former boat captain and clinical intake and pharmacy volunteer

CARES ACT

What do the new changes mean?

Our COVID-19 Crisis Response

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here is still a welcome and hospitality in our social distancing at Urban Ministries.

You can see the smiles on our neighbors’ faces and our staff and volunteers’ eyes, just above their face masks.

All of our programs in health, hunger and nutrition, and helping homeless women find a way home are essential services in these trying times of COVID-19. We’ve changed how we work for the safety of our staff, volunteers, and the families we serve. We can only cautiously open our doors. But… We’ve opened our curbs to serve record numbers of out of work families, 70-80 a day, with boxes of nutritious food placed safely in the trunk of their cars.

We’ve opened our curbs for pharmacy pick-ups when we weren’t able to provide 90-day prescriptions before the pandemic for lack of stock.

We’ve opened our screens to telemedicine visits to keep clinicians and patients at home, bringing only those in need to be carefully screened before entering for a clinical exam or lab test.

We invited the women of Helen Wright to become a community, to stay in place, protect each other, share three meals a day, fresh air, games and books and other amusements. It’s happened.

We can keep our distance and come together as a community. Please come together with us, support us as you can in these trying times of COVID-19. We’re all neighbors, after all. What we do affects the health of each of us.

Dr. Peter Morris, MD, MPH, MDiv Executive Director

Our pantry transformed from Client Choice to pre-packaged boxes in order to safely meet the needs of our community.

URBAN MINISTRIES OF WAKE COUNTY

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INSPIRING OTHERS ROSE WAS ABLE TO MOVE INTO STABLE HOUSING AFTER COMPLETING THE LONG-TERM PROGRAM AT HELEN WRIGHT CENTER WHICH OFFERS WOMEN EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS A PATHWAY HOME

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ose says she “is living her best life right now.” She recently moved from the Helen Wright Center for Women to an apartment. She’s proud to show off some furnishings she received from Urban Ministries of Wake County’s community partner, The Green Chair Project.

Now that Rose has stable and safe housing, she would really like to give back to other women experiencing homelessness. She wants to come back to the shelter to give talks on things like time management, selfawareness, and breaking cycles. She wants to inspire the women to make the most of the resources available to them.

The road home wasn’t easy for Rose.

For a few years now, she’s been back and forth between Raleigh and Baltimore. Though, she says she knew going back to Baltimore was a mistake each time. At the Helen Wright Center, she was able to work, save money, and find a place of her own.

Rose is one of 800 single, adult women who seek shelter for a variety of reasons each year in Wake County.

The Helen Wright Center for Women sheltered 425 women last fiscal year and many more are expected this year with the opening of a new 73bed shelter this summer.

This time around, she used her time in the long-term case management program wisely. She went to a counseling group, she got her certification to be a cook, and she was working.

Urban Ministries of Wake County offers the women at the Helen Wright Center the most basic of needs: shelter, a change of clothing, and some meals, which are currently provided by volunteer groups. We also offer the ones who choose to continue in our long-term program, a path towards home. 68 women last fiscal year left with a signed lease. Our caseworkers work to find creative solutions for affordable housing. (cont.)

“You have to use the resources and network during the day when you’re not at the shelter,” Rose says.

She said it was that networking and the money she’d saved in the case management program that allowed her to jump at an apartment the minute she heard it was open.

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URBAN MINISTRIES OF WAKE COUNTY

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, we offered the women 24-hour shelter, 3 meals a day, help with unemployment assistance, and more. Some of the women were able to move into a healthy hotel program set up by Wake County during the outbreak. Our volunteers and donors answered the call for more food and more donations when we needed them.

We still have a need for meals and increased operating costs when this new shelter opens June 1, 2020. This is an essential and vital service to our community - in a crisis and beyond.

TO DONATE, GO TO URBANMIN.ORG/DONATE. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PROVIDING MEALS FOR THE WOMEN AT HWCW, PLEASE EMAIL UMMEALCOORDINATOR@GMAIL.COM.

NEW HELEN WRIGHT CENTER FOR WOMEN

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SKYLINES SPRING 2020

A SECOND CHANCE: Brian Talty

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alk about a second chance.

Brian Talty came to Raleigh from Virginia where he had a great job, but a “secret addiction” as he calls it. He also wasn’t taking care of himself and got into some trouble.

Healing Transitions is a non- profit organization offering peer-based recovery services and a community partner of Urban Ministries of Wake County. Brian didn’t want to go, but he did anyway.

Although he resisted, Brian soon found himself at Healing Transitions, where medical testing was part of the treatment. (cont.)

While he was trying to kick the addiction on his own, his sisters encouraged him to go Healing Transitions here in Raleigh.

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URBAN MINISTRIES OF WAKE COUNTY

It was then that Brian was informed he had Hepatitis C. The worst part: Brian knew he already had a chronic liver condition.

Healing Transitions made Brian an appointment to see Dr. Charles van der Horst at the Open Door Clinic. Dr. van der Horst’s program treats clinic patients who have Hepatitis C. The $70,000 drug combination needed for a cure was donated to the clinic and the treatment protocol was written by Dr. van der Horst.

This cure changed the lives of 24 patients, so far, including Brian Talty.

That’s right – Brian Talty no longer has the disease he thought might kill him once he started treating his addiction.

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“I’m pretty grateful for it, “

Talty says of his Hepatitis C cure.

Meanwhile, Brian had joined the Recovery Run Club at Healing Transitions. He’d read Running Man, a memoir by Charlie Engle, who also used running to cope with addiction.

“Urban Ministries changed my diet completely, too,” he says. “I had already been thinking about it, but Dr. Campbell suggested I go on a plant-based diet, so I did.”

“I haven’t had a cold in like a year.”

“I couldn’t run a half a mile when I started this, then I signed up for a half marathon and finished,” says Brian.

Brian says he’d like to stay in Raleigh. He’s grown to like it, and his sisters, nieces, and nephews are here.

As a result of this new passion, he organized Recovery on the Run in Dix Park as a way to give back to all the organizations which helped him and to inspire others.

“I’ve enjoyed being a part of their lives,” he says.

A second chance, indeed.

Last year, he ran 38 miles (that’s a marathon and a half) to mark a year of sobriety. He raised thousands of dollars for Healing Transitions.

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If you’d like to run

with Brian at Recovery on

Next year, Brian’s run will support Emmaus House, where he’s been living since he left Healing Transitions. In 2021, Brian plans to run 42 miles to raise money for Urban Ministries of Wake County.

the Run, all you have to do is show up at Dix Park on June 13. The event is from 5 a.m.-noon. It’s a 1.25 loop

Dr. van der Horst passed away in the summer of 2019. Brian now does his follow up appointments with the clinic’s Medical Director, Dr. Elizabeth Campbell.

good for all levels.

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URBAN MINISTRIES OF WAKE COUNTY

SERV I N G OUR NEIGHBORS I N A TIM E OF CRISIS ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS MODIFIED OPERATIONS WHEN THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK HIT, BUT IT WAS OUR FOOD PANTRY WHICH ENDED UP SERVING MORE NEIGHBORS IN NEED THAN WE EVER HAD BEFORE.

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ypically, we operate the county’s largest client choice food pantry. As the COVID-19 outbreak hit North Carolina, we knew we had to change operations in each of our programs.

We also decided to halt individual food donations and food drives to limit foot traffic. We are able to continue purchasing food from the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and found a couple of other ways to source fresh meat and produce. A group of volunteer doctors in our clinic who tend our urban garden, continue to bring in fresh vegetables. Your monetary donations will go a long way in helping us purchase these items.

We decided that the pantry would go from client choice to curbside service. We knew it would help keep our clients, staff and volunteers safer.

We began the first week by serving a maximum of 50 cars each weekday, but as more and more people lost their jobs and kids had to stay home from school, the need became greater. We are now serving up to 85 cars a day Monday-Thursday and expect to for some time.

We are still in need of volunteers in the pantry. It’s the only program allowing in-person opportunities through at least June 1st. If you are interested, email: volunteer@ urbanmin.org.

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COMMUNITY PA RT N E R :

Duke Health

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uke Health aims to improve health in our communities and is expanding its reach in Wake County. Urban Ministries of Wake County is proud to have received the Building Healthy Communities grant from Duke Health.

The $25,000 grant will be used for our programs which provide health care for uninsured adults with chronic illness and food for our neighbors in need. Our clinic sees more than 1800 uninsured adults every year. Our food and nutrition program feeds more than 29,000 people and is the largest client-choice food pantry in Wake County.

Duke Health is devoted to making sure that people across the region are able to get the medical care they need regardless of their ability to pay.

In fiscal year 2019, DUHS provided a total of $597 million in community benefit and investments, including $118 million in charity care at cost to eligible uninsured low-income patients.

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URBAN MINISTRIES OF WAKE COUNTY

VOLUNTEER PA RT N E R :

Matthew Hedrick

MATTHEW HEDRICK, A FORMER BOAT CAPTAIN, IS A CLINIC INTAKE AND PHARMACY VOLUNTEER AT URBAN MINISTRIES OF WAKE COUNTY.

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e asked Matthew what he would tell someone else about volunteering at

"We are all familiar with the type of currency we use to buy groceries and put a roof over our head. I would encourage anyone thinking of volunteering to recognize additional types of currency that in many ways are more valuable than money. Currencies such as gratitude, knowledge, wisdom, faith and community. At UM we deal in all of these different types of currency. Gratitude, when a patient smiles and says thank you on what could be their very worst day.

Knowledge is exchanged at Urban Ministries when people are working together to solve complex problems.

Wisdom is a precious currency that comes from those who have experienced much and are willing to share it with others. Faith does not come easy but, volunteer regularly and you will see people return happier and healthier than they were the first time you met them. Community, we all must have it to live happily and there is only one way to obtain it: you have to join a community by investing in others with your gratitude, knowledge, wisdom and faith."

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THE NEW CARES ACT ALLOWS FOR CHANGES TO CHARITABLE GIVING

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he CARES Act allows for a new deduction in 2020 for up to $300 in annual charitable contributions if you do not itemize. If you have already given since January 1, that money also counts toward the $300 cap.

The law also lifts the existing cap on annual contributions for those who itemize, raising it from 60 percent of adjusted gross income to 100 percent. For corporations, the law raises the annual limit from 10 percent to 25 percent.

Ways to Give: • One-Time Donation (check to see if your employer matches) • Become a Sustainer • Charitable Bequests • Stock Donations • Real Estate • Retirement Assets

For more information: urbanmin.org/donate 11

URBAN MINISTRIES OF WAKE COUNTY

Board of Directors Priscilla J. Ramseur, DNP, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC (Chair) Scott Shackleton, CPA (Treasurer) Judy Schneider, RN (Secretary) W. Stan Taylor (Immediate Past Chair) James A. Smith, III (Chair Elect) Alicia J. Barfield Chad Day Rodney Frazier Robert E Futrell, Jr. Maurice Harden Greer Lysaght Carolyn C. Maness Peter Marks, PhD Russ Stephenson Sean Tehrani, MD, MBA Gwenerva Williams William Williams, Jr. Chris Wrench Larry Wu, MD Samuel T. Wyrick, III

Leadership Executive Director: Dr. Peter Morris, MD MPH MDiv Open Door Clinic Director: Dr. Lucy Vidal-Barreto, DDS, MHA Medical Director: Dr. Elizabeth Campbell, MD Director of Finance and Operations: Pat Roper, CPA, CGMA Director of Crisis Programs: Lisa Jones, MSM Director of Development: Kate Palmer 12

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