Monthly Archives: August 2006

Homeless Task Force Announces Town Hall Meetings

The Guilford County/High Point/Greensboro Task Force on Ending Homelessness

Vision: “To improve the quality of life for all residents of Guilford County by ending chronic homelessness and reducing all types of homelessness by 2016.”

“Five years ago the notion of cities having 10-year plans to end homelessness was naïve and risky. No one thought it was possible. But the new research and new technologies have created such movement and innovation on this issue that it may now be naïve and risky not to have such a plan.” — Philip Mangano, Executive Director, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

TOWN HALL MEETINGS

September 12, 2006
6:00 pm
Westover Church, in the Theater
505 Muirs Chapel Road
Greensboro

September 19, 2006
6:00 pm
City Council Chamber
Third Floor, 211 S. Hamilton Street
High Point

COME HELP US PLAN!

Sponsored by the City Councils of High Point and Greensboro and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, under the leadership of the Homeless Prevention Coalition of Guilford County, United Way of Greater Greensboro, and the United Way of Greater High Point.

I’m a member of the Task Force and a member of HPCGC, and I’d like to personally invite you to join us for the Town Hall meetings. I hope we’ll see you there.

Joseph’s House Grand Opening

My mom and I attended the Joseph’s House grand opening this afternoon. Joseph’s House is a new transitional living program for homeless teens in Greensboro, founded by Nancy and Sam McLean. The program will offer shelter, counseling, case management, counseling, training and much more. After young people graduate from the program, they will continue to be followed as needed, to ensure their success. Joseph’s House is involved in partnerships with churches, non-profits, businesses and government agencies to provide the services that homeless young adults need to become housed and stable. In the beginning, Joseph’s House will serve young men, but eventually the founders plan to expand the program to serve young women, as well.

The motto of Joseph’s House is “offering hope to homeless young adults in Guilford County,” and that hope is evident throughout Joseph’s House. The house itself is a large and well-built restored brick home that seems to echo with the sounds of the families who’ve lived there through the years. Bright flowers in pots on the porch welcome visitors, and inside the big rooms are painted in vibrant, welcoming splashes of color, which Joseph’s House founder Nancy McLean says represent the “coat of many colors” worn by the Biblical Joseph for whom the house is named. Each room is beautifully decorated and comfortably furniture.

My first impression of Joseph’s House? “Home.” Peaceful, comfortable, warm, welcoming, home. It’s not a shelter, it’s not an institution, it’s a home. And I thank God for it! As my mom and I walked around upstairs and looked at all the bedrooms, ready and waiting for the young men who will soon sleep there, I said to her, “This is just what they need! Can you imagine? It’s home! It’s a real home!”

And then I overheard Nancy’s husband Sam telling friends that they were already thinking about the next house. Because, yes, the reality is that there are many homeless young adults in Guilford County. Too many for just this one house. As welcoming and beautiful as it is, it can’t hold them all. But God built this house, and He’ll build the next one, too. I am thankful and grateful for all those who gave and served to make Joseph’s House possible, and I urge you to support the ongoing ministry of Joseph’s House.

God bless you, Nancy and Sam, and all of the young people who will come through the doors of Joseph’s House. May God’s favor rest upon you all.

[Previous post here.]

Update: I saw blogger Michael Brown (View from the Sidewalk) at the Joseph’s House grand opening and met his lovely wife (aka “Mama.”) Read Michael’s post about the event here.

Street Full of Miracles

Night Watch, 08/25/06

:: Friends who’ve lived outside for many years will soon move into a home of their own. She got a permanent job. He’s getting help for chronic health problems. They’ve both been sober for months. They’ll continue to help the many other homeless folks they’re already watching out for. She prays all the time, out loud, walking down the street. “I know people must think I’m crazy, talking to myself,” she laughs. I think she’s amazing. And God heard every word. I can feel Him smiling at us, as we stand by the road, hugging and grinning. :)

:: A friend who lives outside has found a safer, drier spot to sleep. He is doing well this night, and we have a good conversation. He tells us more about where he came from, and how he came to be homeless. He is glad to see us and I smile like a satisfied momma as I watch him eat the food we brought him. We pray for him before we leave and he tells us that he knows the Lord. We leave, knowing God is watching him. Always.

:: We visit a deserted building, looking for the homeless folks who sometimes sleep there. No one is home tonight, but we capture the attention of some folks in uniform, patrolling the area. After we explain about Night Watch, I ask if we can pray for them. They share with us that they’re Christians, too, and that they pray for the people they come in contact with at work. Together, we pray for their safety and protection, and for encouragement for them as they stand as a light and an example of God’s love in the darkness of the world in which they serve. I’m blessed to have met more members of the family of God. We’re everywhere. :)

:: Laughing young men outside a bar come up to us, curious. We hand them a Gatorade and politely decline the money they offer. They want to know why we’re giving them a free drink, so we explain that we want to show them God’s love in a real way, and we tell them more about Night Watch. Then I ask one of the young men if I can pray for him. I soon learn that he’s going through a difficult transition in his life and that God has been reaching out to him. He tells me that his family and his church are “back home,” and as he says the name he says I won’t know the small town. I smile and tell him I was born just miles away. We talk and laugh about names and places down east that are familiar to us both. I talk to him about God’s love for him, and then I pray for him. Before he leaves, we hug him and he says, “Where I’ve been lately, you don’t get many hugs.” As he walks away, he suddenly turns back to us and says, “Psalm 34:8: ‘O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.’” “Yes! Yes!,” I say back to him. He seems a little surprised at himself. He says his momma taught him the Word. I tell him that I know his momma is proud of him right now. He smiles as he turns to go. Thank you, God, for letting me show Your love to another mother’s child. I pray that You’ll give her peace, Lord, and let her know her son’s all right.

:: Two friends we haven’t seen in a while wave us down. “This is my day of miracles!,” she tells me, excited. The building they are staying in is scheduled to be torn down. They expected it to happen last week. She had woken up that morning dreading the day, expecting bulldozers outside and wondering how they would carry away their belongings. Where would they go? But then a man had told them it would be another week before the building goes. A reprieve! She rejoiced. Another week to find a new place. Someone in a house nearby let her fill up a bucket to wash her hair. She found an almost-new pair of jeans left behind in another building. And then they saw the Night Watch canteen down the block and flagged us down. And they knew they would get a hot meal, cold drinks, snack bags, blankets, and toiletries. “Another miracle!,” she cried out, grinning. Yep, the street is full of ‘em. Keep your eyes open. :)