About StreetWatch
StreetWatch is a volunteer street outreach ministry to unsheltered homeless people in Greensboro, NC.
Our mission: To meet the immediate needs of unsheltered homeless people in Greensboro; to connect them with resources and supportive services; to share the love and hope of Jesus; and to be somebody who cares for them!
What We Do:
- We distribute tents, tarps, sleeping bags and other basic shelter-related items and necessities to homeless people who sleep outside.
- We provide homeless people with information about medical and mental health care, and substance abuse treatment, and assist them in accessing those services.
- We refer homeless people to organizations that provide meals, clothing, showers, laundry facilities, winter shelter, job skills training, veterans assistance, housing assistance, etc.
- We partner with allied ministries, service providers, law enforcement and community organizations to serve and advocate for homeless people.
- We regularly visit and spend time with the homeless people that we minister to. We are grateful for the friendships that we’ve built. Praying for our friends, and loving, supporting, exhorting and encouraging them is a blessing to us. It’s an even greater blessing that they do those same things for us!
All of our team members are volunteers. All of the items that we distribute to homeless people are donated or paid for by the contributions of individual donors. We do not receive grants and are not funded by any church or organization. (We do have an account through a fiscal sponsor, which allows our donations to be tax deductible for our donors.)
How You Can Help!
Donate needed items or make a financial contribution to our ministry!
People who help us…
Storage facilities for StreetWatch are provided by Battleground Storage, 3700 Old Battleground Road in Greensboro, NC. We are grateful for their support!
The Greensboro Police Department’s Watch Operations has allowed StreetWatch to place collection boxes in the lobby of their facility at 2620 S. Elm/Eugene St. in Greensboro. We very much appreciate this, along with all the help we receive from GPD in doing street outreach. Thank you!
Greensboro Christian Church is the fiscal sponsor for StreetWatch. We are thankful for their assistance!
Media Mentions
"Downtown green space dislodges homeless tent city" Date: March 7, 2010 Source: WFMY News 2
“…The homeless outreach group StreetWatch says 15 men and two women lived at the camp last summer. This season’s severe winter weather whittled that down to six by last week…”
"In the city's path" Date: March 6, 2010 Source: News & Record
“…Last summer, 15 men and two women lived at the Freeman Mill camp, according to the outreach group StreetWatch. But by this week, as March brought yet another snow, only the six remained.
For the short term, they simply broke camp and crossed a chain link fence to adjoining property, where the Mitchell family leases out an AM radio tower and a billboard.
The clearing, in contrast to the woods, offers less cover, leaving the tents exposed.
‘It’s quieter on the other side. Here, when the train passes, it vibrates you,’ Owens shouted Friday as a Norfolk-Southern train clattered close by his makeshift campsite.
‘And the wind wasn’t so bad over there. Tuesday, when it was snowing, it kept putting our fire out.’
Elliot Mitchell, whose family has long owned the WKEW tower property, doesn’t mind the homeless camping on his land. Still, he said he would like to see efforts to improve the greenway also extend to improving the lot of its former inhabitants.
‘I wasn’t upset. They need somewhere to go,’ said Mitchell, who discovered a previous camp a year ago when he spotted a campfire. ‘They’re pretty much down on their luck, and keeping to themselves. Ideally, maybe we can find another place for them to stay.’
That, in a nutshell, is the objective for StreetWatch outreach workers, who have seen the chronically homeless struggle through a particularly harsh winter….”
"Homeless measure temps with blankets" Date: January 10, 2010 Source: News & Record
“…Friday, as the temperature plummeted quickly from 27 one hour after nightfall down to a low of 12, Blaylock and StreetWatch volunteers kept a wary eye on known homeless camps and bridge people.
Distributing cold-weather clothes donated by Our Lady of Grace Catholic school, Cara Michele Forrest and Audrie Keen lingered at the camp until dusk, then headed out again Saturday…”