My ministry partner, Audrie Keen, describes what we saw while doing street outreach today: Hurting, lonely people. People who have no voice, people who are hungry, people who need to be warm and have no sleeping bag when the temps drop. People who are heavily addicted to drugs and don’t … > read more
The News & Record and WFMY report that the owner of the University Mart in Greensboro has been charged with food stamp fraud. He’s accused of making purchases at local grocery stores with food stamps that weren’t assigned to him. The University Mart is on Warren Street, near the intersection … > read more
From an instant message conversation with my best friend and ministry partner, Audrie Keen, thinking about yesterday when we were at the Salvation Army store, loading the truck for NightWatch, street outreach to the homeless: Here’s a good moment: Yesterday when I left the Army, my hands were filthy. Like … > read more
Sent this message to our NightWatch team today: The WE program emergency winter shelter ended today. NightWatch should see more people on the street from now through next winter. The number of unsheltered homeless people has increased dramatically from last year. Greensboro Urban Ministry is seeing an increase of 30-40% … > read more
A homeless man, Ronald Wrenn, was hit by a car on Friday night while crossing South Eugene Street on his way to the Salvation Army Center of Hope’s emergency overflow night shelter. He died shortly afterward** at Moses Cone Hospital. I found out just after it happened from our church’s … > read more
On Wednesday, January 28th, the Homeless Prevention Coalition of Guilford County conducted its annual Point in Time Count, a nation-wide count of the homeless mandated by the Department of Housing and Development. The yearly census, conducted over a 24-hour period each January, helps determine the funding that each community receives … > read more
Earlier today, I posted information received from an HCD staff member with the City of Greensboro, detailing the relocation of 26 former residents of the Coliseum Inn, which was purchased by the City in November, and has since been closed. I questioned the low number of residents relocated, knowing that … > read more
A few weeks ago, I got a message from a reporter friend that GPD was going to do training exercises with explosives at the Coliseum Inn. The reporter asked if I knew where the residents had gone and if the City had made accommodations for them.  I messaged a police … > read more
Image credit: Ryan Shell, GreensboroPolitics.com Ryan Shell at GreensboroPolitics.com The Greensboro City Council will be holding a special meeting tomorrow to discuss the possibility of approving an incentive request from Lindbrook Development Services. As I have previously mentioned the main stumbling block was the developers request for the city to … > read more
From the News & Record, 01/15/2009: Kenneth Brown keeps the small, red book in his small, cluttered office at the Salvation Army Family Store. He and Nicole “Nikky” Slaughter, his assistant manager, use it to record the names of any new student who comes in for community service after getting … > read more