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Greensboro Urban Ministry Presents
When Helping Hurts

DATE: September 14
TIME: 12:30-2:00 PM
LOCATION: Weaver House Classroom
MORE: Tuesdays for 10 Weeks

when-helping-hurtsThe Rev. Frank Dew, chaplain at Greensboro Urban Ministry, will facilitate a discussion of the book “When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… and Ourselves.”

Read more on Book study: When Helping Hurts…

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YESAt the YES! Weekly blog, Jordan Green is keeping up with the latest proposed changes to the City of Greensboro’s RUCO ordinance, governing inspection of rental units. Housing advocates insist on keeping proactive inspections that protect tenants — particularly low-income and poor tenants who often fear retaliation if they report bad landlords. But the task force is discussing eliminating required inspections. The City Council will vote on any proposed changes to the ordinance.

Read more on YES! Weekly blog has more on RUCO…

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Sights and sounds from the 2009 Feast of Caring, including a prayer from the rabbi of Temple Emanuel.

“Let us realize that as long as there are poor in our community, as long as there are poor, then there truly is a lack of justice.”

– Rabbi Fred Guttman

Read more on Feast of Caring: Sights & sounds, soup & supplication…

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FREE DENTAL CLINIC
Friday, November 6: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, November 7: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church
617 North Elm Street
Downtown Greensboro

teethwithtoothbrushEntrance to Clinic is on Greene Street, between Fisher Park Circle and Fisher Avenue. The GTA Route 3 bus stops at the intersection of Elm Street and Fisher Ave.

Read more on Free Dental Clinic: Nov 6 & 7…

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chaThis makes me mad:

“The Charlotte Housing Authority board enacted a new rule Wednesday that allows the agency to evict public housing residents if their children skip school too often.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System, which worked with the housing authority on the new policy, hopes it will improve attendance. Housing officials hope it will help families become more self-reliant…

Read more on Breathtakingly stupid idea likely to increase family homelessness in Charlotte…

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A local blogger who likes to send me links to often unflattering articles about homeless or poor people emailed me this today:

Recently Michelle Obama went to serve food to the homeless at a government funded soup kitchen .

Read more on Making assumptions: Michelle Obama, a soup kitchen and a guy with a BlackBerry…

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michelleshoes

photo credit: Paul Morigi, Getty Images; inset photo: Reuters

Michelle Obama is catching flak for wearing a pair of $540 designer French sneakers to volunteer at a food bank. My reaction? Who cares? Isn’t it a little… judgey, maybe??… to cast aspersions on the First Lady for what she chooses to put on her feet while she serves others? I would never make a judgment on the homeless or poor people that I meet or minister to because of the shoes they’re wearing. Why should I care what a fellow servant wears on hers?

Read more on I don’t care which shoes the First Lady wore…

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A Night of Remembrance commemorating
National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day

walk of remembrance starting at Shiloh Baptist Church with Pastor Willis Johnson
service of remembrance at Grace Community Church with Marshall Benbow
Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Read more on Photos and text: Homeless memorial walk and service 2008…

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In two video interviews about Hope Builders homeless camps, since destroyed by the City of Des Moines, a homeless advocate says:

“Most of the religious community operates out of the business model…”

Read more on Churches: Building a business or building the Kingdom?…

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N&R front pageI’ve been writing about local efforts to come up with additional emergency winter shelter, and about the increase in requests for assistance and decline in giving. Today’s News & Record features front-page, above-the-fold coverage of both those issues.

Read more on Struggle to meet financial and shelter requests is front-page news…

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The Greensboro City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on buying the Coliseum Inn on High Point Road, and the plan is to tear down the hotel and sell the property to a developer.  I don’t really have a strong opinion for or against the City buying and razing the property (there are pros and cons both ways), but I do want to know what’s going to happen to the residents if the hotel is torn down.

Read more on Coliseum Inn vote tonight: No word on housing for residents…

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Homeless people often have everything they own in their backpacks. These backpacks were stashed near where some of my homeless friends were reading or using computers at the library yesterday afternoon.

From my on-the-street perspective, it certainly appears that hunger and homelessness are increasing in Greensboro.  There are more and newer faces at free meal sites, homeless shelters and the downtown library, one of our de facto day centers.  I went to Weaver House the other day looking for a homeless friend, and for the first time in years, I didn’t recognize a single face among the crowd of homeless people hanging out around the doorway and in the parking lot.

Read more on More hungry and homeless in Greensboro?…

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