Community Education
We've learned a lot about poverty and homeless in our 18 years, and we'd like to share it with you and your friends, your congregation or synagogue, your business and with others in the human service field here in
Faces of Homelessness Panel:
Spend an hour learning about a neighbor's experience with homelessness first hand. This is a face-to-face story with Q&A to help our community learn about the issues facing those experiencing homelessness. The program can be held here at UMC and be paired with a tour or with other service opportunities. We may also be able to come to you! Check out this blog entry about the Faces of Homelessness Panel.
Use the Group Form to self-schedule your group or email
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Walk in My Shoes:
This is a homeless simulation that lasts anywhere between one and a half to two hours depending on the assignments given. During this simulation, each group is asked to adopt the identity of a person experiencing homelessness and to “walk in their shoes,” by visiting several agencies and locations around the Urban Ministry Center. The exercise is very safe and each group is accompanied by a seasoned staff member or volunteer. The purpose of this exercise is to help each group comprehend the everyday difficulties of the homeless, the physical demands of walking from location to location, the frustration of homelessness, the barriers faced by our neighbors and the incredible strength and complexity of these people.
Use the Group Form to self-schedule your group or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
My Name is Rachel:
This is a 90 minute exercise that, using scripture and the story of Rachel, examines the responsibility we have to help our neighbors (the homeless population). By analyzing a homeless individuals biography and discussing each situation step by step, this program helps the participants better understand the circumstances of the homeless and, more importantly, how we can help.
Use the Group Form to self-schedule your group or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Bridges Out of Poverty:
A powerful, multi-faceted program to address the core issues that make and keep people poor. Bridges is a national program tailored for the Charlotte area, offered in three separate seminars. All seminars are free, save the one-time cost of the book, "Bridges Out of Poverty."
- Bridges Part I: Class Matters A six-hour seminar that reveals the profound differences between the survival-based culture of poverty, the achievement-based culture of middle class, and the connections-based culture of wealth – and shows how to build relationships across cultures that help people in poverty move toward economic stability.
- Bridges Part II: Building Relationships This seminar will deepen your ability to apply the Bridges concepts to real-life situations and give you more tools for deeper understanding and more effective relationship building.
- Bridges Part III: Building Community (under construction)
Other initiatives offered in conjunction with Bridges:
- Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By World: A 15-week course for people who are unemployed or working but still unable to meet their basic needs, who are looking for a more stable future, and who are hard-working and motivated. Participants learn to set goals to help them and their family become financially stable, master the “hidden rules” of middle-class culture that often keep them from success, and find resources and utilize them throughout the community
- Circles: An action plan that brings together the best efforts and resources of individuals, organizations, communities, and government in a program proven to raise people out of poverty.
Email Paul Hanneman, Program Director, or call him directly at 704-926-0612.
Speakers' Bureau Topics:
- The Urban Ministry Center and Its Programs
- Homelessness and Poverty in Charlotte
- Practical Ways to Make a Difference
Email Paul Hanneman, Program Director, or call him directly at 704-926-0612.