We start every morning here at the IRC with a meeting in the day room to go over the schedule for the day, answer questions, share information, and often to discuss the inspirational quotes that Jenny puts up on the whiteboard.  The meeting facilitation rotates among the staff; Friday is my morning.  I took the opportunity last Friday to tell the 60 or so people assembled in the day room about a wonderful $15,000 challenge grant we’ve been given to mark our third anniversary.

And then an amazing thing happened–a man put his hand up and said “How can I give a dollar?”, and he followed the question by walking across the room and handing me a dollar.  A woman reached down, unzipped her purse and gave me a dollar.  A man dug into his pocket and pulled out a single wadded up dollar and gave it to me.  In the space of just a couple of minutes I had seven worn, crumpled dollar bills in my hand.  Someone started clapping; someone else joined in and the whole room erupted in spontaneous applause.  I don’t think I was the only one close to tears.

Matched by the challenge grant, those seven dollars are the equivalent of a sponsorship of an individual at the IRC for a full day and a half.  If ever we needed evidence that what we do at the IRC is needed and appreciated it is that handful of dollars.

The challenge grant runs through March 31; any gift given since January 1 counts toward the total.  You can make a gift online, or by mailing a donation to:

Interactive Resource Center
P.O. Box 20568
Greensboro, NC 27420

Thanks to the benefactors in the day room we’ve only got $14,993 more to go!

Liz Seymour
Executive Director

…the IRC is a lot like its neighbor, the J. Douglas Galyon Depot, connecting clients to the means to get from here to there through an impressive assortment of partner agencies.

A recent visit on a gray, rainy day revealed a full house of homeless clients, some conferring quietly with center staff, others socializing as they waited to be seen. Two huge, brightly lit Christmas trees stood in opposite corners of the reception area. On a big, white, dry-erase board was a quote for the day, which read in part, “Remember, every day is a new day.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean every day is a good day. Two clients had gotten into a shouting match that very morning. But the overall vibe at the IRC is distinctly upbeat and hopeful.

A client can get mail there, wash laundry, take a shower, get a haircut and enroll in job-hunting courses, including computer training. The center helps locate temporary shelter and permanent housing for clients. It refers those who want and need it to drug treatment and counseling.

In return, clients help take care of the IRC. They keep it clean. They report misconduct. They created many of the paintings on the IRC’s walls as well as the sculpted handles on the plate-glass front doors. What’s more, fully a third of the 2,000 weekly volunteer hours at the center are filled by homeless workers.

The new facility has been open at its permanent location on Washington Street only for eight months. But it already is making a measurable difference: 3,776 loads of laundry, 2,652 showers, 3,432 nurse visits and 121 full-time permanent jobs found since opening in May, says IRC Executive Director Liz Seymour…

>> Read all of Editorial: Bright ray of hope at News-Record.com

From the IRC’s Director, Liz Seymour: “We invite anyone who would like to start a new tradition to come down to 407 E. Washington Street and spend a little Christmas at the IRC!”

Related: Bender’s Tavern will provide shuttle service from the IRC to their restaurant for their free Christmas meal for the needy.

“[Rashad Young] said he would also find a campus setting for the homeless facilities. Young said it didn’t make any sense to have the night shelter and other facilities a couple of miles from the day shelter. He said that having the homeless shelter right along one of the main entrances to the city was also not ideal. Young said that he created a campus for services in Dayton and, although it was controversial, it worked.”

via Rashad Young Plays Dictator For A Day

View Some of the places homeless people go in Greensboro, NC in a larger map

The problem that I see with the “homeless campus” idea is that many of the places that homeless people go frequently are government agencies or facilities, which are currently quite spread out (check out DSS, SSA and DMV on the map, for example) and which aren’t likely to move closer to one another in order to benefit homeless people. Free meals sites are mostly at churches, which also aren’t likely to move. And the IRC (homeless day center) is located in a donated facility.

I understand the concern about having the city’s primary homeless services provider located at a major intersection on a major artery leading into downtown Greensboro. “The block” at Lee and Eugene, as it’s known on the street, is infamous for the motley collection of day laborers, drinkers and colorful characters who hang out there daily. The city regularly launches initiatives to sweep them away, but within no time, they’re back. The night shelter’s rules forbid residents to hang out on the block, but the noon meal at the soup kitchen, open to everyone, seems to be quite a draw.

Perhaps if the time comes that the parcel of land there at Lee and Eugene becomes valuable enough to the City or to developers, an arrangement can be made to buy or to swap land so that the Greensboro Urban Ministry campus, and perhaps the IRC day center, and maybe other homeless service providers, can be moved to a location that would allow for more services in one place, and for a larger shelter (much needed!). I’ve heard rumors through the years that this was actually a plan, but if so, it hasn’t yet come to fruition.

Officials trying to curb the number of panhandlers in downtown Greensboro are passing out fliers suggesting what to do if a panhandler approaches.

>> Read all of “Panhandling Fliers Handed Out in Downtown Greensboro” and view video on Fox8.

The story mentions nothing about alcoholism and drug addiction, which are far and away the top reasons people panhandle. But IRC Director Liz Seymour responded to my previous inquiry (following this post) with assurances that the center’s street outreach team will be addressing the addiction issue and providing help to those who’re interested in recovery.

Fretwork clock by Don Ames; image credit: IRC

From the IRC, Greensboro’s homeless day center:

The Interactive Resource Center will once again offer art, music and refreshments on August 5 as part of downtown Greensboro’s monthly First Friday celebration. Featured artist this month will be woodworker Don Ames who creates fretwork masterpieces using a drill press and scroll saw that he runs on solar power at his camp in the woods. Don’s most recent work, a 28-inch tall pendulum clock in the shape of a Gothic cathedral, will be on display at the IRC.

WHAT: First Friday at the IRC
WHEN: Friday, August 5, 6:00 to 9:00
WHERE: 407 E. Washington Street
For more information 336-332-0824 or info@gsodaycenter.org

Since late June, an IRC “street team” of staff and volunteers has been telling panhandlers about the services they offer, including job postings, resume building, job interview coaching and computer and telephone access.

Read the article: “Greensboro Group Wants Less Panhandling, More Shops Downtown – WGHP”

The IRC’s Trailways Housing Program has just released it’s first fundraiser cookbook!

image source: IRC Facebook page

All profits from cookbook sales will support our Emergency Fund to provide short-term assistance for those with urgent needs not covered by other services. This assistance may be as simple as a ride, a fee to help in completing a training program, a deposit for housing, assistance with utilities or any other emergency need. As you are certainly aware, the need is great.

You can pick up a copy of this cookbook from the Interactive Resource Center at 407 E. Washington St, Greensboro NC 27405.

Or if you would like a book delivered to you please call Teresa Hicks at 336-544-5424.

The cost of the book is $15.

The Interactive Resource Center is celebrating its first full month of operation in its new home with an art and music-filled Grand Opening!

Part of June’s First Friday event, this is a great opportunity to tour the newest addition to Greensboro’s downtown neighborhood, enjoy music and art made by the people who use the IRC’s services and their friends, and learn a little more about the good things that are going on right in our own backyard!

Featuring:

• Display of works by artists experiencing homelessness
• Local music
• Open Mic, and…
• Samples from the IRC’s just-published first-ever cookbook!

Where: 407 E. Washington Street, Greensboro
When: Friday, June 3, 2011, 4-8 p.m.

Download the First Friday Event Map here (pdf).

For more information, contact Liz Seymour: liz@gsodaycenter.org, 336-332-0824.

The IRC’s success depends on the support of the people just like you! Please consider making a financial contribution in honor of the grand opening. You may donate securely online here.

The Interactive Resource Center to open in New Downtown Greensboro Location Monday, May 2

The Newly Renovated Building Will Triple the IRC’s
Capacity to Serve People Who Are Experiencing
Homelessness in Guilford County

(Greensboro, NC) – Almost two and a half years after it opened as an emergency day shelter in rented space at Bessemer United Methodist Church, the Interactive Resource Center is moving to its permanent home at 407 E. Washington Street in downtown Greensboro. The 22,000-square-foot building, the former home of Southern Plate & Window Glass, was donated by the Richard Strasser family to the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro in 2009 for the express purpose of housing a center to help people who are experiencing homelessness.

The Interactive Resource Center will open its doors at its new location at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, May 2. IRC staff, clients, board members and volunteers will be available from 8:00 to 12:00 for press interviews.

“This is a great day for Greensboro and Guilford County,” said Skip MacMillan, board chair of the Interactive Resource Center. “We are here today because of the support and encouragement from so many generous and compassionate people in our community.”

The new IRC offers such basic services as showers, laundry, lockers, respite, telephone access and mail room, but it also has a 20-station computer lab, job counseling, housing counseling, medical services and case management. One feature of the new building is four “flex offices” where community social service agencies can meet with clients at the IRC. The new building will allow the IRC to serve as many as 200 people a day.

The need for a day resource center was identified in 2007 as one of the strategies in Guilford County’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. In early 2008 Greensboro City Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small convened a task force of to plan a day center, and in January 2009 the Interactive Resource Center opened. Since it began operations the IRC has served more than 2,400 people.

The renovation of the building was funded by Guilford County, Neighborhood Stabilization Funds (procured by the City of Greensboro), the Cemala Foundation, the Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation, the VF Corporation, the Weaver Foundation and the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. Greensboro architects Moser Mayer Phoenix designed the plan for the renovation; construction was done by Brooks General Contractors.

The Interactive Resource Center is open Monday through Friday 8:00 to 3:00.

For more information, please contact:
Liz Seymour, Executive Director: 336-430-3125, liz@gsodaycenter.org
Lamar Gibson, Fund Developer: 336-686-1292, lamar@gsodaycenter.org

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