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Posted: January 8th, 2012 Amanda Pagliarini

On Jan. 3, Mayor Foxx proclaimed 2012 to be “The Year of Our Neighbors”. The team behind Souls of Our Neighbors (SOON) is treating the mayor's proclamation as a directive. 

The mayor made this announcement on the first day back to work in the new year, as over 300 people gathered to screen “Souls of Our Neighbors”, a documentary on affordable housing. With a 60% local increase in homeless families since 2009, the immediacy of this call to action seems justifiable.

The initiatives SOON has already outlined for the year show an authenticity to the program's name. Rather than look to local government or big corporations, the impetus is being placed on the community; starting with our congregations. (Click here for SOON's website.)

Launching in February,“Beyond Casseroles” will recruit congregations to donate the $3,600 cost to assign a social worker to assist a homeless family. Eight local agencies engaged in homelessness or affordable housing advocacy came together to form the “Beyond Casseroles” coalition. The name came from the hope that our congregations would move beyond food donation to actual real investments that will help to prevent and end homelessness.

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Posted: January 8th, 2012 Amanda Pagliarini

On Jan. 3, Mayor Foxx proclaimed 2012 to be “The Year of Our Neighbors”. The team behind Souls of Our Neighbors (SOON) is treating the mayor's proclamation as a directive. 

The mayor made this announcement on the first day back to work in the new year, as over 300 people gathered to screen “Souls of Our Neighbors”, a documentary on affordable housing. With a 60% local increase in homeless families since 2009, the immediacy of this call to action seems justifiable.

The initiatives SOON has already outlined for the year show an authenticity to the program's name. Rather than look to local government or big corporations, the impetus is being placed on the community; starting with our congregations. (Click here for SOON's website.)

Launching in February,“Beyond Casseroles” will recruit congregations to donate the $3,600 cost to assign a social worker to assist a homeless family. Eight local agencies engaged in homelessness or affordable housing advocacy came together to form the “Beyond Casseroles” coalition. The name came from the hope that our congregations would move beyond food donation to actual real investments that will help to prevent and end homelessness.

Keep Reading

Posted: January 5th, 2012 Tonya Jameson

The troubling memories hung in the Wells Fargo Auditorium like a bad dream. The hurtful words. The racist undertones. The stereotypes. The generalizations. The not-in-my-backyard righteousness that stifles any discussion of giving the working poor a hand-up rather than a hand-out.

On Tuesday, Jan. 3, more than 300 people came out to hear a more articulate and humane take on affordable housing and homelessness. The attendees had an opportunity to watch the documentary “Souls Of Our Neighbors: Fears, Facts and Affordable Housing.” (Click here for more info.) The documentary humanized the hot button issue that dominated headlines in 2010 when developers proposed an affordable housing complex in the Ballantyne area. 

In those ugly discussions, many residents near the proposed housing site decried the project citing every stereotype imaginable about the people who live in affordable housing homes. “Souls of Our Neighbors” features a combination of man-on-the-street interviews as well as profiles of six families living in affordable homes.

“I see no reason why this city can’t solve homelessness,” said Mayor Anthony Foxx during the presentation. Foxx also issued a proclamation proclaiming 2012 as “The Year of Our Neighbors.”

Keep Reading

Posted: January 5th, 2012 Tonya Jameson

The troubling memories hung in the Wells Fargo Auditorium like a bad dream. The hurtful words. The racist undertones. The stereotypes. The generalizations. The not-in-my-backyard righteousness that stifles any discussion of giving the working poor a hand-up rather than a hand-out.

On Tuesday, Jan. 3, more than 300 people came out to hear a more articulate and humane take on affordable housing and homelessness. The attendees had an opportunity to watch the documentary “Souls Of Our Neighbors: Fears, Facts and Affordable Housing.” (Click here for more info.) The documentary humanized the hot button issue that dominated headlines in 2010 when developers proposed an affordable housing complex in the Ballantyne area. 

In those ugly discussions, many residents near the proposed housing site decried the project citing every stereotype imaginable about the people who live in affordable housing homes. “Souls of Our Neighbors” features a combination of man-on-the-street interviews as well as profiles of six families living in affordable homes.

“I see no reason why this city can’t solve homelessness,” said Mayor Anthony Foxx during the presentation. Foxx also issued a proclamation proclaiming 2012 as “The Year of Our Neighbors.”

Keep Reading