Enlarge About 50 people viewed “Souls of Our Neighbors” at UNCC uptown. Photo: Lee Howard

Posted: March 26th, 2012 Lee Howard

Chris Johnson says he’s never found himself at a place where he necessarily wanted for anything. But the 19-year-old journalism student said he got a recent education in just how fortunate he’s been in life.

A film presented by Crossroads Charlotte, Temple Beth-El and Mecklenburg Ministries called “Souls of Our Neighbors” attempted to dispel certain myths about homelessness to a roomful of about 50 gathered Saturday, March 24, at UNC Charlotte’s new Uptown Campus. Most of those attending were from area high schools. Though a contingent of about a half dozen kids from the University of South Carolina Upstate, including Johnson, also attended.

The film depicts the real-life experiences of six Charlotte families who faced and overcame homelessness in what, by many measures, is regarded as one of the most prosperous cities in the country.

Johnson, a sophomore from Hampton, S.C., said he found the story of the Masters family particularly compelling.

Richard and Stacey Masters found themselves having to live in a tent in the woods for five months, even though Stacey had a full-time job. Their two daughters had to do their homework by candlelight.

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Posted: February 25th, 2012 Lee Howard

Loving thy neighbor is harder than it looks when your neighbor lives in affordable housing right next door.

Many believe affordable housing in their neighborhoods brings down property values and invites crime. But is that true?

Souls of Our Neighbors, a film presented by Crossroads Charlotte, Temple Beth-El and Mecklenburg Ministries, attempted to dispel certain myths about homelessness Friday night at Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church on Mallard Creek Road.

The film depicts the real-life experiences of six Charlotte families who faced and overcame homelessness in what, by many measures, is regarded as one of the most prosperous cities in the country.

A few things to consider:

• Many service workers, including bus drivers, health aides and customer service reps, spend more than 50 percent of their income on rent and utilities.
• In Charlotte in 2010, at least 800 people with disabilities had been homeless for more than a year.
• About 50 percent of homeless children in Charlotte have failed at least one grade.

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Posted: February 16th, 2012 Lee Howard

Four steps to solving the homeless paradigm: Prevention, housing and services. But first, it starts with people.

“This is a problem that is impossible to solve individually,” Temple Beth El volunteer Judy Seldin-Cohen this week said to a gathering at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library uptown. “But it is a problem we can solve together.”

We’ve all been there. There’s the shabby fellow standing on the street corner with a “Will work for food” sign written on a piece of cardboard. Under current economic circumstances, it’s not an unfamiliar sight anywhere in Charlotte. You roll down your window, flip the guy a buck before the light turns green, and you’ve done your good deed for the day.

But curing homelessness is much more complicated than handing out loose change. An ensemble cast of experts on homelessness, church organizations and non-profits have launched Solve the Puzzle Charlotte, a project designed to make local homelessness a thing of the past within the next 10 years.

A group of about 60 met this week at the uptown library to view the new Solve the Puzzle Web site (click here for the site).

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Posted: January 11th, 2012 Lee Howard

A dark horse emerged from the gloom last week to fill the vacant District 6 Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board seat. The relatively unknown Rev. Amelia Stinson-Wesley was appointed over 12 contending for the spot left open after board member Tim Morgan won an at-large position in the last election. PTA mom Stinson-Wesley beat out more familiar names, including Wilhelmenia Rembert, who once chaired the school board.

Begging after dark is forbidden in Charlotte. It’s also against the law to panhandle near an ATM, bus stop or restaurant. While one might argue the local rules are impossible to enforce, Raleigh police in 2011 handed out more than 400 citations for begging without a permit.

The Democratic National Convention Committee last week announced it had invested convention funds in two N.C. minority controlled lenders. The committee deposited $2 million each in non-interest bearing accounts with Durham-based Mechanics & Farmers Bank, an African-American owned bank, and the Latino Community Credit Union.

These people meet via Twitter and social media channels. Then they hit the basketball court. Now, they've launched a commununity service effort off-the-court and offline. They call themselves #SCLThoops.