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UMC Blog
Keeping the community informed about our successes and challenges, this is a forum for UMC staff, volunteers, neighbors, and supporters to share their stories.
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Recent Posts
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More Women & Families Using RITI This Season
We have more Room In The Inn (RITI) beds than ever before (98-200+/night), yet they are not enough to meet the needs of those who make it here to the Center. Increased demand, along with changes to local shelters’ entrance and eligibility policies, has led to a significant increase in women and families using RITI. This year has brought a ...Jan 18 -
Other entries by Paul Hanneman
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Connectin' With Kicks
During the last eight weeks, Tuesday night easily became my favorite time of the week for StreetSoccer 945—it is when we got together for our 8 week series called Connectin’ with Kicks. Every week (15-25) volunteers and (15-20) Street Soccer players got together to participate in team building exercises, life skill lessons, relationship bu ...Jul 13 -
Other entries by Peter Fink
Trish Fries
Community Development/GardenWorks Director
Recent Posts
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You've Got Mail! Thanks to VISTA Calita Taylor. . .
Another entry in celebration of our great VISTA's, during AmeriCorps Week. Last summer I got a ‘cold call’ from a donor wanting to help the homeless; little did I know the impact Calita Taylor would eventually make on the Urban Ministry Center. The traits she brought to that first visit, enthusiasm paired with a practical and positive approa ...Mar 15 -
The Labyrinth: A Clearly Defined Path
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Those were the words, from Psalm 119:105, that resident Solomon Agunbiade shared with the group after they walked the canvas labyrinth inside Moore Place. Solomon recalls that as his favorite walk, because the lights were off and the path was lit with candles. He was instantly remi ...Feb 13 -
Tuesday at the Urb
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Drops of Good Renovation Video
The Maxwell House Drops of Good Renovation video for Urban Ministry Center has been posted! ...Sep 28 -
New Neighbor Services Staff Welcomed
In late August, Urban Ministry Center welcomed three new additions to our Neighbor Services team. John Zika is here courtesy of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library with funding from an LSTA grant. John is working through June, 2013, to help neighbors with job finding skills and to support our JobWorks counselors. Kristen Cothran is a Vista Volunteer ...Sep 17 -
Other entries by Trish Fries
Recent Posts
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ArtWorks 945 Partners with UNCC Center City on Favelas
Last week my fellow VISTA, Kristen Cothran, wrote My Work as a VISTA: Creating New Education Tools for the Community about the role of an AmeriCorps VISTA. I’d like to expand upon her explanation by further sharing what it means to be a VISTA, and the breadth of work we do. To review, a VISTA is a Volunteer in Service to America. The VISTA pr ...Mar 27 -
Creating a New Vision - partnerships in art
In mid-June, I was selected by the Arts & Science Council to attend the Americans for the Arts Conference (AFTA) in San Antonio, Texas. The experience was the perfection punctuation as I wrapped up my year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA with UMC’s ArtWorks 945 program. For the past year I had worked on building capacity within the program by fos ...Jul 02 -
Other entries by Maria Mazzocco
Recent Posts
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Finding a Home for Veterans
“Welcome Home” reads the sign in John’s new home. It was made for him by a group of elementary school students, one of the several groups that have helped John make the transition from thirteen years of homelessness to home. Like around 12% of all people who experience homelessness, John is a veteran. Through programs like the Veteran’s Administr ...May 18 -
Other entries by Liz Clasen-Kelly
Recent Posts
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Remembering Larry Major
I met William Larry Major on my first day of work at Urban Ministry Center. It was May 2010, and Dale suggested we take a walk downstairs to see the soup kitchen gearing up to serve lunch. We had barely entered the lunchroom when Larry came barreling towards us, all long limbs and drunken giggles. Dale said, “Meet Larry. He’s been homeless for year ...Oct 31 -
A New Kind of Community
On February 1, we welcomed home the first four tenants to Moore Place. It was a day filled with anticipation, excitement, smiles, hugs, and definitely a few tears. The four women who moved in that day collectively had been homeless for 36 years. That night, each went to sleep in a brand-new apartment, the scent of homemade fried chicken – the ...Jun 12 -
Other entries by Caroline Chambre
Meredith Dolhare
RunningWorks Co-Founder
Recent Posts
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Expect the Unexpected
Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. ~Scott Adams I have always been terrible with names. Honestly, I’ve tried absolutely every trick in the book to attempt recollection: name association, rhyming, repeating it after I’ve been told, writing it down—the works. It seems what ...Jul 19 -
Other entries by Meredith Dolhare
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What I Did On My Summer Vacation…
“So, what are you going to be up to this summer?” was the friendly, only slightly curious question of friends and family as my freshman year came to a close. “Oh, I’ll be working at a homeless services center in Charlotte,” was the vague, only slightly knowledgeable answer I gave in response. The reactions would range from surprise to con ...Aug 03 -
Other entries by Ian Thomson
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Busting Myths with the Faces of Homelessness Panel
Like many of us, Mark Ross is afraid of snakes. That’s what led him to his ingenious and creative response during his years experiencing homelessness—construction barrels. He found that if he pulled together two of them, near a road construction site, that no person would notice him. And he reasoned that the vibration and the highway noise would ...Dec 13 -
Other entries by Mary Katherine Black
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The Power of Numbers
We often say of a speech, it was inspiring or moving, meaning we had an emotional reaction or even a motivation to take some action as a result of the speech. I believe the same can be said of numbers. Numbers have the power to activate or immobilize. If I say you have a 50/50 chance of winning the lottery, you would begin buying every lottery ...Mar 05 -
Other entries by Dale Mullennix
Kristen Cothran
Community Engagement and Education VISTA
Recent Posts
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My Work as a VISTA: Creating New Education Tools for the Community
What is a VISTA? Are you staff? Are you a student intern? Do you work every day? These are some of the questions that I am asked on a daily basis. A VISTA is a volunteer in service to America through the AmeriCorps program. We are not staff, but are full time volunteers set to serve for 12 months at a time with a specific nonprofit group, be it ...Mar 14 -
Other entries by Kristen Cothran
Recent Posts
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What Moore Place Has Meant to Me
I was homeless for over three years. I had no direction or meaning in life. I was truly a very lonely and unhappy person. My health was not good at all. I found myself in and out of jails. I was told very little about Moore Place Apartments and some hope came into my heart. I attended the Open House and on that very day, I claimed my apartme ...Mar 20 -
Other entries by Carl Frank Caldwell Jr.
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Attaining ID is Lengthy, Expensive and Difficult
In the last 17 years, Urban Ministry Center has become an expert on obtaining a photo ID. Due to our experience and willingness to advocate for those who come through our doors, we can successfully get most people a photo ID (we have had some very tricky cases through the years, with home births, adoptions, etc. that it took more than a year to be ...Apr 11 -
Other entries by Jinny Sullivan
Tricia Sistrunk
RITI Coordinator for Trinity Presbyterian Church
Recent Posts
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Another “Successful” Season of Room In The Inn at Trinity
The following is reprinted from the Trinity Presbyterian Church newsletter. Tricia Sistrunk lives in Charlotte with her husband and three children. She is a stay-at-home mom, attorney, blogger for thelunchproject.org, and RITI Coordinator at Trinity. On March 20, 2013, we concluded another successful season of Room In The Inn (RITI) here at ...Apr 29 -
Other entries by Tricia Sistrunk