Enlarge "You don't have to go to a third world country to see poverty," says Amy Daniels.

Posted: March 24th, 2012 Carla Hough

On March 15, a group gathered at Christ Lutheran Church to participate in "Class Matters," the first workshop of a program entitled Bridges Out of Poverty.

Sponsored by Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation and the recipient of a Front Porch Grant by Crossroads Charlotte, the program is made available to teachers and those who volunteer with outreach programs that assist the impoverished.
 
The main objective of the workshop is to help these teachers and volunteers form more effective relationships by understanding more about poverty, as one of the key teachings of the course is that "no significant learning occurs without a significant relationship."

The class is taught by Amy Daniels, Director of Outreach at Christ Lutheran Church and president of McClintock Partners In Education (McPIE), a collaboration between Christ Lutheran and McClintock Middle School, a school with a 78% rate of poverty among its students. "You don't have to go to a third world country to see poverty," she says.

Keep Reading

Posted: March 14th, 2012 Lee Howard

• Mayor Anthony Foxx and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Coalition for Housing hosted an Interfaith Summit on affordable housing and homelessness. The event drew more than 300 people Friday to the Park Expo and Conference Center. Those gathered represented almost 100 area churches. The featured speaker was The Rev. Floyd Flake, a former New York congressman and the pastor of Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York who spearheaded a renewal of the Jamaica neighborhood in Queens. According to The Charlotte Observer, the Rev. Flake cautioned the hundreds of elected officials, agency executives and spiritual representatives that they had to put differences aside, act fast and produce clear results. "Nobody wants to climb on a train that's stopped in the middle of the tracks," he said. Click here for Observer photos from the event.

• Affordable Housing and Homlessness were the topic on WFAE's Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins on Tuesday. Among those interviewed about the state of the homeless and efforts to help: Mike Rizer - Chairman, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Coalition for Housing; Dr. Maria Hanlin - Executive Director, Mecklenburg Ministries; Kelly Lynn - Director of Development at Charlotte Family Housing; and David Levine - Director of Media, Serve Charlotte's Homeless. Click here to listen to the program.

• Sibusiso Monguni led the combined choirs of Mallard Creek High School and his Hlanganani! 2012 Unity Tour Honors Chorus of South Africa for an impromptu performance of a traditional African song and dance at Mallard Creek High Friday. Friendship Missionary Baptist Church is hosting the African students for a month-long visit. The choir performed for the public at Missionary Baptist Church on Beatties Ford Road Monday. 

• Most North Carolinians oppose a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages, new poll results show. The amendment will be on the May 8 ballot. The survey found 54% of N.C. residents opposed the constitutional amendment and 38% supported it. 

• CLT Blog is hosting "282," a weekly TV news show about hot topics in Charlotte and beyond. Recently, the show featured discussions on the importance of minority voter turnout for the 2012 election with Rod Garvin, who is on the leadership team for the Hip Hop Caucus in Charlotte, and social entrepreneurship with Charles Thomas of Queen City Forward, a nonprofit that helps social entrepreneurs use business strategies to solve social problems.

Posted: February 27th, 2012 Brant Aycock

An idea that was first conceived in 2009 is finally becoming a reality!  When Crossroads Charlotte began conversations with local immigrants, refugees, asylees and internationals (IRAIs) here in Charlotte - one of the most consistent needs that came up was for a directory of resources for this growing community.  Three years later that need is finally being met with The Mecklenburg Access Portal (or The MAP, for short). 

In partnership with Mecklenburg Area Partnership for Primary Care Research (MAPPR), Community Building Initiative, and the Community Relations Committee, Crossroads Charlotte has developed an online resource directory.  This exciting tool will help members of the IRAI community as well as others easily find resources and services available to them in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Keep Reading

Posted: February 21st, 2012 Carla Hough

In 2009, Jorge Flores-Rojas was convicted of running a sex trafficking ring between Charlotte and Washington, DC. Picking up vans of young women and girls each week, some smuggled directly from Mexico, he would force them to engage in sex acts with as many as 20 men a day. This is not an isolated case.

Due to the active highways and high immigrant population, the FBI has ranked North Carolina as #8 on its list of states to watch for human trafficking. Charlotte, as the largest city between DC and Atlanta, is particularly vulnerable to becoming a hub for such activity. 

On February 18, the American Association of University Women (AAUW), FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office and NC STOP joined forces to present the informative and engaging "Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery" workshop at Trinity Presbyterian Church. 

The morning began with an introduction by Diane Schneider, president of the Charlotte AAUW. Queen Thompson, an AAUW member who served as event chair, wanted to bring local attention to a subject that many don't often think of as occurring in their own neighborhoods. 

"We have learned from history that anytime there's a sore or virus that goes unchecked, it spreads," she said. The topic is one especially important to Thompson, who has served as a social worker for over 44 years.

Keep Reading