sustainers challenge

A semiannual newsletter by

Urban Ministries of Wake County

about our people and programs.

S P R I N G 2 0 1 8

SKYLINES

PAGE 2Letter from Peter

PAGE 3 Our Community Partner:

Wake SmilesMelissa’s Story

PAGE 4 Health Care

HungerHomelessness

PAGE 5 Volunteer Spotlight

PAGE 6Spring Fling Recap

Nurturing Neighbors

PAGE 7Profile on Board Member

and Partner

In this issue...

Will you help sustain the needs of the hungry, homeless, and uninsured?

By giving $10 or more each month you help

to meet the ongoing need within our community.

Sign up now and your monthly gift will qualify us for a $30,000 grant!

Hurry! We need 45 new (only 25 more) sustainers by June 30th to meet the goal!

SIGN UP AT URBANMIN.ORG/SUSTAINER

COVERSustainers Challenge

Tour D’Coop

BACK PAGEWish List

Upcoming EventsBoard and Staff Lists

Cluck for a cause at Tour D’ Coop on

Saturday, June 2, 10am-4pm! Join the east

coast’s largest chicken coop tour, featuring

more than 20 unique backyard coops, bee

hives, and gardens! Tour D’ Coop offers

family fun with interactive stops, food trucks,

live music, a chicken coop raffle, and more.

Visit by car or bike! Tickets available the

day of the tour at Wake County Whole

Foods, Seaboard Ace Hardware, and

Raleigh Brewing.

Buy early and save! Advance Tickets at

tourdcoop.com

TOUR D’COOP

only 25 more to meet our goal!

I know I’ve shared the who, what, how and why of Urban Ministries.

We’re here for Wake County residents with incomes below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. Our programs are known for their outcomes: health, nutrition, a path home, and volunteer engagement that strengthens our community.

We provide a space where people do for themselves what they have always done: partner to improve their health, shop for fresh food for their families, choose a path to a signed lease, and volunteer to listen to incredible stories of hope, strength, and resilience. It’s how we would want to be treated. It makes Urban Ministries a special place for our neighbors, our volunteers, our staff, and our friends and donors.

We’re special in another way, too. We look and listen for ways to address the social determinants of health.

If you haven’t heard of the social determinants of health yet, you will. What we eat, where we live, how far we went in school, how strong our family ties are bound, how

safe our neighborhoods are, how close we are to our neighbors, and whether we have transportation to a well-paying job are as important or more so when it comes to health than whether we can find a doctor to see and find a way to get there and then afford the medicine they prescribe.

Your zip code can predict your longevity.

Every day we do more than register our neighbors for services. We welcome shoppers and partners and guests and offer hospitality. We bear witness to stories of struggle and setbacks. We hear of needs Urban Ministries does not meet. Staff and volunteers listen, provide comfort and provide connections to partner agencies, not pieces of paper or lists, but names and numbers and hand offs and even phone calls. We nod and sigh and name that missing need, that absent social determinant, and we offer a connection to fill that hole.

Traditionally, we and other crisis food programs track visits and limit clients to a week of groceries every 90 days (with some exceptions). It’s a way of ensuring there’s no dependency created—that we’re truly a “crisis response” service. At the same time, we’re learning from our shoppers that hunger doesn’t happen once every three months, but strikes after a particularly cold month’s high heating bill or an unexpected medical catastrophe. Such crises can leave families balancing debt for several months before catching up. When life deals you a bad card or two there’s usually a few more coming before you can play out that hand. Is it possible there’s a more meaningful response to families in crisis than service every 90 days? Our patients, shoppers, and guests are letting us know that what they lack is as long as the list of social determinants can be. We are learning how to listen.

Evaluating our programs in the context of the social determinants of health may compel us to do our work a little differently. Sometimes better service may mean questioning long-held assumptions or partnering with other agencies that have the expertise we lack. Whatever the approach, what matters is the outcome—lives changed for the better.

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Letter from Peter

Dr. Peter Morris, Executive Director

Peter Morris, MD, MPH, MDivWe look and listen for ways to address the social determinants of health.

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“There are two roads I could have been down and I chose the wrong one,” says Melissa, a former guest at our Helen Wright Center for Women.

Melissa hasn’t had an easy life. At age eight she started using drugs because it was all she knew. Not long after, both her mom and dad were arrested, leaving her in the care of her grandparents. Then they, too, went to prison. With nowhere to go, Melissa moved in with her aunt and her cousin.

Melissa and her cousin decided to make a pact to break the family mold and not use drugs. By fifteen, however, Melissa found out her cousin had broken their pact and had been sneaking

cocaine. Deciding she didn’t have a reason to stay clean, Melissa too started using cocaine. When Melissa’s aunt found out about their drug use, she blamed Melissa and kicked her out. Melissa was homeless at just fifteen.

She remained homeless for years thereafter. Using a mix of uppers and downers, Melissa tried to silence her feelings—to not feel at all. With no home and no desire to feel, Melissa continued to use drugs, which landed her in and out of prison eight times. Outside of prison, Melissa says she “never had a functioning home to go to.”

After her last arrest, Melissa decided it was time to get clean. She went through a detox program offered at Healing Transitions. After completing that program, Melissa was ready for the next step. She checked in as a guest at our Helen Wright Center.

“It’s hard to find a place that will let you stay somewhere and help you to save money,” Melissa says. As a guest, she received not only shelter and meals but also the warmth of volunteer and staff support. When she encountered difficulty finding work with a criminal background, Urban Ministries’ caseworkers connected her with numerous resources, including employers willing to offer a second chance. With reliable work and a safe place to stay, Melissa started saving towards her own apartment. “Since I’ve got money saved up my whole ego has changed,” Melissa beams. “It’s having money and holding down a job that affects your self-esteem. I feel worth now.”

Today, thanks to your support, Melissa rents her own apartment. She works two jobs, employed in landscaping and cleaning services, and maintains a relationship with the Helen Wright Center staff. “My case manager has been there from the beginning. She knows my situation and she makes me feel like a human,” she continues. “Most people look down on you, but she’ll do anything she can to help me.”

With your generous donations of financial support, meals, and other necessities, Melissa is sober, working, and in a place she calls home. You provided her with a path from homelessness to home.

Our Community Partner: Wake Smiles

Wake Smiles has a proven track record of success. It has a reputation for excellence among the uninsured community and the safety net organizations referring patients for dental services. By improving their dental health, patients are able to lead more productive and rewarding lives, experiencing higher self-esteem, reducing sick days, and meeting the needs of their loved ones.

Wake Smiles touches the lives of over a thousand families each year. They do this on a shoestring budget, leveraging the good will of volunteers and donors in our community. The organization is

making its services available to those who lack the resources—those who choose to feed their families and provide a safe home to their loved ones before getting dental care. Wake Smiles is improving the quality of life of the people it serves.

Wake Smiles is able to do this good work due to the generous support of the community. Volunteer providers and assistants are the backbone of the operation. Charitable foundations offer financial support. Donors across the county make both monetary and in-kind contributions to keep the facility well stocked and running smoothly. And patients pay a nominal fee to add value to the service they receive.

We at Urban Ministries highly value our partnership with Wake Smiles. They are a key referral source for our patients experiencing dental problems. Every year, more than 200 of our patients get relief and improve their oral health because Wake Smiles is in our community, an essential strand in the safety net.

Melissa’s Story...

The Helen Wright Center feels like home and I treat it like it is. I feel comfortable and wanted.“

“

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Beyond Medicine ...a healthier life.OPEN DOOR CLINIC

Our Open Door Clinic exceeds national standards in helping patients stabilize their chronic conditions and their lives. The clinic’s success is due to many factors, starting with dedicated volunteers and staff. In his six years of service to the Open Door Clinic (and still more in other capacities at Urban Ministries), Pablo Escobar led the clinic to become more efficient and effective in providing quality health care to uninsured patients.

Pablo ushered the clinic into an electronic healthcare record, which provided not only a more organized and comprehensive patient visit, but critical data to track patient outcomes and demonstrate the overall impact of the Open Door Clinic—improving the health of our community.

Pablo also developed relationships with community partners, which led to an increase in resources available to our clinic. These partnerships have provided much needed staffing, volunteers, equipment and supplies. Partnerships make clinic growth possible.

Another triumph of Pablo’s time here is the structure of the clinic’s management. He developed a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) team to detect and resolve issues, implement new changes, and fine tune current processes at weekly meetings. Clinic staff demonstrated improved job satisfaction, and

CQI has been the driving force behind the clinic’s ability to increase the access to care in the community.

Pablo accomplished these achievements and much more, while being the highest steward of clinic resources. Always supportive of his staff, he demonstrated that there were no tasks beneath a director. Pablo would walk the entire grounds to make sure patients and clients were greeted by the most tidy parking, grounds, and building they could! THAT kind of service is invaluable. Urban Ministries will feel the departure of our leader, our example, and our friend. Thank you, Pablo.

HELEN WRIGHT CENTER

We are proud to be part of a community that gives back to its own. And we are even more excited to be part of a community that rallies behind its citizens experiencing homelessness. The Helen Wright Center for Women partnered with A Lotta Love this winter to remodel our twelve-bed small dorm.

The renovations were not just cosmetic. They reflect Urban Ministries’ culture of treating everyone with dignity. We believe it’s important for our community to invest in those striving to improve their lives. With compassionate realism and by providing practical knowledge to our clients, we are confident that homeless, single women can invest in their personal growth to become economically self-sufficient. The hard work of volunteers from A Lotta Love has giving women working toward self-sufficiency a beautifully decorated, peaceful place to call home while effecting change.

During 2017, the Helen Wright Center for Women provided 12,410 nights of shelter to 319 unique women. More than 85 of those women chose to enroll in our program and 68% found a path to permanent housing.

hungerBeyond Feeding ...we nourish.THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND

The basic economic principle is in full swing here in the Food Pantry. Just one year into our client choice pantry, we have witnessed the true demand for what our shoppers need and, as a result, we’re working harder than ever to source food and be a constant to meet those needs. The past year has taught us a lot about best practices within the framework of being a client choice pantry in Wake County. Being more aware of what our neighbors need makes us better equipped to provide those foods.

Without help from our partners, we would not have the requisite food for our neighbors—we are so grateful for all that has been given by each and every person. Every amount counts! We often find that demand outpaces our supply, and we need as much help as we can get in sustaining our inventory so that the supply meets the demand. Over the past eight months, more than 40% of the food distributed has been fresh produce. Radical change like this means asking more of our neighbors to become partners of the Food Pantry—hosting food drives, donating resources when possible, and spreading the word about our client choice pantry. With greater supply, we can offer to our neighbors an even steadier, abundant selection! Let us further partner together in nourishing our neighbors, helping bring a healthy supply to the demand we now know exists.

Beyond Shelter ...a path home.

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Pablo Escobar

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From front desk greeters to pantry stockers to the Helen Wright Center, you’ll find Raleigh Altrusa members volunteering all across Urban Ministries. What is Raleigh Altrusa? It is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1917, with the focus of making local communities better through leadership, partnership, and service. The primary functions of Altrusans are community service and literacy. Altrusans serve the community through literacy projects, food pantries, veteran support, and environmental improvement projects.

Altrusa members have been volunteering here since the early 1990s, when Urban Ministries was located on Seamart Drive. In our old building, Altrusans volunteered disposing of outdated medications, recycling medication containers, organizing medical records, and more. One volunteer even worked as a registered nutritionist.

Today Altrusans help in each of our programs on a regular basis. As a group, they stock the pantry and rotate evening front desk shifts once a month. Raleigh Altrusa also provides quarterly meals at our Helen Wright Center and provides gift bags to the guests at the center twice a year on special occasions. Individually, Altrusans volunteer at our front desk once a week, help with mailings, and assist in the food pantry as needed. And if all of this wasn’t enough, Altrusans donate books for our children’s’ area, encouraging families to take them home.

Why do Altrusans continue to volunteer with us? “It’s a very rewarding experience as we get to work directly with people and provide concrete and real assistance in meeting their needs,” according to Dolores Hall, President of Raleigh Altrusa. “The clients are always cheerful and friendly. Staff members are always grateful for our efforts and we have met wonderful people, both on staff and other volunteers. It is nice to know there are so many people who care about their communities.”

We’re grateful for the many ways Raleigh Altrusa supports our programs, organizing and mobilizing their members to do the most good in our community. We’re always in need of volunteers at both our front desk and in our food pantry. Whether you choose to volunteer directly with us or through Raleigh Altrusa and their great mission, all are welcomed!

To join Raleigh Altrusa please contact Chapter President, Dolores Hall at doloresannhall@gmail.com.

Volunteer Spotlight on:

Altrusa International of Raleigh

Altrusa believes it is not enough to be good; Altrusans must be good for something.“ “

- Mamie L. Bass, Founder of Altrusa

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Thank you to the following donors who have given 500 pounds or more to our client choice pantry:

GoldFenwick FoundationGregory Poole Equipment Company

SilverCapitol Broadcasting Company Fifth Third Bank Forward FigPeter Morris and Sara SmithWakeMed

BronzeDuke Raleigh HospitalFred M. Morelock & Jeannie S. MorelockTanya Zinner and Francis Abdou

PatronJim and Lee BlackBlue Cross Blue Shield of NCAnne and Matt BullardJean and Michael Carter

Carla and David LiberatoreMedical Mutual Insurance Co. of NC Opex Technologies Jim Peterson and Judy PidcockScott P. ShackletonWake Emergency Physicians, P.A.Wake Stone Corporation Katie and Larry WuWyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton, LLP

Ou r s i n c e r e a p p r e c i a t i o n g o e s o u t t o t h e f o l l ow i n g s p o n s o r s f o r h e l p i n g m a k e t h e e v e n t a s u c c e s s :

Spring is in the air

Spr ing Fl ing R ecap :

THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR SPRING FLING BLOOM! NEARLY 300 GUESTS WERE IN ATTENDANCE, AND THE EVENT RAISED MORE THAN $100,000 TO SUPPORT OUR PROGRAMS. Highlights of the evening included successful live and silent auctions—graciously promoted by auctioneer JB Davis—as well as two emotional appeals. Former Open Door Clinic patient, Gwen, shared her personal story in front of a packed audience, expressing appreciation for our medical providers and other volunteers who took care of her in her time of need. John Welch, Director of Development, recognized the tragic passing of our dear friend and volunteer, Whitney White Zinner, and her family members in attendance. He announced that donations from the evening’s Fund the Need campaign would be used to honor Whitney’s dedication and service to Urban Ministries. The Fund the Need campaign ultimately raised more than $30,000—thanks to the tremendous compassion and generosity of all who contributed.

Nurturing Neighbors

BB&TBeth Meyer SynagogueBible Application ClassBlue Sky FarmsColdwell BankerCommunity United Church of ChristDell EMCDimension DataDixon Hughes Goodman LLPDuke Raleigh HospitalEdenton St UMCEmpire FoodsFirst Presbyterian of RaleighFood Lion Charitable Foundation, Inc.Greystone Baptist ChurchHayes Barton BaptistHoly Trinity Evangelical Lutheran ChurchKiwanis of Raleigh/Alpha GraphicsLocal Govt. Federal Credit Union

Lysaght & AssociatesMerrill LynchMillbrook Baptist ChurchMs. Kate Deifer MaradeiMulino Italian RestaurantNationwide InsuranceNew Hope Church North RaleighPenn State Alumni Assoc.Penny Road ElementaryPRA Health SciencesPullen Memorial Baptist ChurchRaleigh District AME ZionSaint Paul’s Episcopal Church Samaria Baptist ChurchSociety of St. AndrewSt. George’s Anglican ChurchSt. James UMCSt. Michael’s EpiscopalSt. Paul’s Christian Church

St. Paul’s Episcopal ChurchTemple Baptist ChurchThe Produce BoxThe Raleigh SchoolUCB BiosciencesUmstead Park United Church of ChristUnited Universalist Fellowship of RaleighWake Forest High SchoolWest Raleigh Exchange ClubWestern Blvd. PresbyterianWhite Memorial PresbyterianYellow DogYMCA Hillsborough St.Kroger Six Forks RoadHarris Teeter Creedmoor RoadFriendship Class

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Q. What interested you in UMWC at first and, as a board member, what do you appreciate about the organization?A. I grew up in Raleigh; it’s my home, so I have a natural appreciation for organizations or programs that impact families here. UMWC clearly does that, with well-run programs that address multiple basic needs for our neighbors right here in Raleigh and Wake County. UMWC’s approach to helping people in our community involves so much more than just a handout – there’s a great degree of respect for people who are really trying to make it, who just need some help getting ahead. As a donor, I like how dollars at UMWC are applied positively and efficiently to help good people through tough times, hopefully toward more stable and self-sufficient lives.

Q. Why did you choose to have your company, Opex Technologies, become a member of UMWC’s Partners program?A. I mentioned that I grew up in Raleigh, and so did Opex Technologies which I founded in 2004. The Partners program is appealing to me because it’s targeted at business owners who make Raleigh and Wake County their home. Anything I can do to improve the quality of life for people here in my hometown, I’m in. Also, this community is home to a majority of Opex Technologies’ clients, so when I invest here I’m supporting the community that supports my family. This community continues to be instrumental in my company’s growth and success; through UMWC, I get to give back by giving others opportunities to succeed. I’m honored to see Opex Technologies beside Urban Ministries of Wake County making this a better place for everyone who lives or works here and I hope more Raleigh-based businesses will join the program.

OCCUPATION: CEO, Opex Technologies

BIRTHPLACE: Kinston, NC

FAMILY: Wife, Sherry, and three children

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing, East Carolina University; master’s degree in business administration, East Carolina University

FUN FACT: Courtney is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys spending time outdoors and introducing his children to all that nature has to offer.

Since July 2013, Courtney has served our community as a board member of Urban Ministries of Wake County (UMWC). Courtney’s generosity with time, talent, and treasure has cemented his legacy at UMWC. Skylines visited with Courtney recently to learn more about his interests and his passion for UMWC’s mission.

Profile on Board Member and Partner: Courtney Humphrey

You can help Urban Ministries save on administrative needs by donating! Don’t forget, you can also use your Amazon Smile account and a portion of your purchase will be donated to our programs!

A full list of our needs can be found at urbanmin.org/wish/

A SAMPLING FROM OUR WISH LIST:

our wish list

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S P R I N G 2 0 1 8

U r b a n M i n i s t r i e s o f W a k e C o u n t y

SKYLINESNON PROFIT ORG

US POSTAGEPAID

RALEIGH, NCPERMIT NO. 2424

Renewing lives. Restoring hope.

1390 Capital Blvd.Raleigh, NC 27603

Leadership

Peter Morris, MD, MPH, MDiv, Executive Director

Elizabeth Campbell, MD, Medical Director

Gary Greenberg, MD, Medical Consultant

Mickey Holt, CPA, MBA, Director of Finance and Operations

Mandy Horner, RN, BSN, Interim Clinic Director

John Welch, CFRE, MPA, Director of Development

Lisa Williams, MSM, Director of Crisis Programs

Administrative Offices and

Mailing Address

1390 Capital Blvd.Raleigh, NC 27603

919.256.2172

Helen Wright Center401 W. Cabarrus St.

919.833.1748

Web:www.urbanmin.org

Board of Directors

W. Stan Taylor (Chair)C. Douglass Riddle (Immediate Past Chair) Scott Shackleton, CPA (Treasurer)Priscilla J. Ramseur, DNP, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC (Secretary)Francis J. Abdou, MDRev. Paul L. AndersonHunt K. Choi, JDSandlin DavenportWalter GomezJoelyn HarringtonCourtney A. HumphreyKacy Hunt, JDTed Kunstling, MD, FCCPGreer LysaghtCarolyn C. ManessPete Marks, PhDBeverly T. PowellJudy Schneider, RNRabbi Eric M. SolomonRuss StephensonSean Tehrani, MD, MBASage Amthor TwissLarry Wu, MDSamuel T. Wyrick, III

Members EmeritusAnne BullardAnne Burke Mary Anne HowardDon Lucey, MDDavid MaurerHarry A. White

upcoming eventsTour D’Coop: Saturday, June 2, 2018Cluck for a cause at the annual Tour D’ Coop from 10am-4pm. Join the largest chicken coop tour on the east coast, visiting backyard chickens, beehives, and gardens. Advance Tickets online at tourdcoop.com

Fight Hunger Food Drive: July 2018We still need local faith congregations and businesses to offer locations for food drop-off. To join AlphaGraphics, Kiwanis Club of Raleigh, and Urban Ministries in relieving summer hunger for Wake County families, please contact jhewitt@urbanmin.org.

Stay Connected. Stories, opportunities, and events at:

• 8 ½ x 11” Copy Paper• Hand Sanitizer• C Batteries• Brown Rice• Medical Bandage Tape• 2”x2” Gauze Pads• Combination locks• Plastic flip flops

We continue to need front desk volunteers! Please contact volunteer@urbanmin.org if you are interested in serving in this important, rewarding role.

Urban Ministries is a proud Agency of Excellence member of the Triangle United Way.

Triangle United Way Number: 840

SECC Code: 2573