This Monday, May 21 we saw 202 people.  Of those people 176 or 87% were homeless, 14 were veterans and 26 were new to the IRC.  While they were at the IRC 61 people used the computer lab, 14 people checked their mail, 10 people sat down with a case manager, 15 people saw the medical nurse, 5 people saw the mental health/substance abuse nurse, and 18 people sought housing counseling, 4 of them because they were experiencing an acute housing emergency.  In addition our 202 guests did 21 loads of laundry, took 27 showers, received 11 referrals for clothing and food and applied for 2 free cell phones.

And in just one month…..

April 2012 Snapshot
INTAKES:  154

Resumes prepared: 215
Temporary jobs found: 7
Part-time jobs found: 14
Full-time permanent jobs found: 10
TOTAL JOBS FOUND:  31

Emergency shelter placements: 22
Transitional housing: 5
Residential treatment: 1
Permanent housing by household: 11
Total adults assisted with permanent housing: 16
Total children assisted with permanent housing: 10
TOTAL INDIVIDUALS SHELTERED OR HOUSED:  54

How do we do it!?
With a lot of help from our friends!

The IRC could not operate without our volunteers and our community partners.  Every one of our departments (housing, employment counseling, facilities, etc.) is managed by a single paid staff member who orchestrates a huge number of volunteers every week.  In April alone volunteers donated 1,772 hours of service to the IRC (it’s worth noting that 353, or close to 20 percent, of those hours came from guest-volunteers).  The Independent Sector, a national advocacy group for non-profits, calculates that the fair market value of a volunteer hour in North Carolina is $18.80–that adds up to over $30,000-worth of time and talent donated to the IRC every month!

Last week I had a call from Mark Geary at News2.  He had been outside the Federal courthouse covering the John Edwards trial when one of our guests stopped him and told him he should do a story on the IRC.  “I understand from the man who stopped me that you’re struggling a bit financially right now,” Mark said over the phone.  “I love what you’re doing over there and I’d like to let the community know.”  Thursday evening the IRC was the lead-in story on the evening news.

In early February we celebrated our third birthday with a $15,000 challenge grant from an anonymous donor.   You responded!  We not only met but exceeded our match: $22,044 in eligible contributions in February and March.  Thanks so much to our many friends in the Greensboro community and beyond!

But as we are raising money we are also and always looking at ways we can keep our monthly operating expenses lean and sustainable.  At the end of March we had to make the hard decision to suspend weekend open hours (we had been open 10:00 to 2:00 on the weekends through the winter).  Weekends are difficult for people on the street: many services are closed or on limited hours and there’s not much of anyplace to go and not much of anything to do.  Nonetheless, we agreed that our first responsibility is to keeping our core program strong and financially healthy.  Weekends will be back–just not yet.

There was consternation in the day room when we announced the weekend closing, but also a lot of understanding.  The people who come to the IRC for help told us clearly and firmly that they wanted to be part of the effort to get the IRC get on a firmer financial footing.  And they are!  Last weekend dozens of IRC guests showed up for the first car wash of 2012 and raised $1,012.56 washing a non-stop stream of cars.  All that money went directly into our Client Assistance Fund to help with utility deposits, work boots, bus tickets home and the like.  Then last week the call from News2!

I was moved earlier this month by an open letter to the community written by one of our guests.  “I was recently released from incarceration” he wrote.  “I was dropped off in Greensboro with NOTHING!  No ID.  No clothes.  No work or prospects of work.  I came to the IRC on referral from another client with doubts…just another place to shuffle me off to the next place.  But they have not done that here at the IRC.  They have helped me and are helping me with everything you can possibly imagine to get some stability in my life.  I need the IRC to stay clean and to stay free.  We all need this program.  They do everything they can to help us here but they need help to provide this for us.  PLEASE help them to help us.”

Thank you to everyone who cares about and cares for the community of the IRC.  We’ll be here as long as there are people who need us.

Our friends at the The Greensboro Voice have just produced another excellent issue featuring personal stories, profiles, news, art, poetry and more.  You can pick up a copy of The Voice at the IRC or at various locations around town–and while you’re at it, pick up this week’s issue of YES! Weekly with a wonderful account by YES! Weekly editor Brian Clarey of attending an editorial meeting with The Voice staff.

Teresa Hicks has been recognized for her outstanding work in helping people find emergency shelter and permanent housing with the 2012 “Housing Our Neighbors” Award.  The award was presented at the February 29 annual Housing Summit sponsored by the Greensboro Housing Coalition.  And unrelated–and well-deserved–Teresa also won the raffle drawing at the Housing Summit for a night at the Proximity Hotel!