During the Fall semester in 2014, I had the opportunity to spend time at Greensboro's Interactive Resource Center. This center helps provide services to its "guests," our homeless community; which includes showers, job skills training, a computer lab, laundry facilities, workshops for resumes, warm meals, business attire, as well as simply being a supporting point to gather. As a non-native to Greensboro, getting hands-on experience with community members dealing with community issues was eye-opening and offered a shift in perspective.
While working with the IRC, I got a chance to see Kathe Latham work with volunteers to get the Tiny House Greensboro project up and running, which included the actual completion of a tiny house with the intention for it to be used by one of the IRC's guests. My role in the organization became to assist with the fundraising event for the project. We held a gathering at Scuppernong Books where a percentage of proceeds from the venue that night went to the IRC for the tiny house. The night included many speakers who were involved, including a few guest testimonies and a guest performance. It was moving, to say the least. The IRC found ways to move me throughout my semester of volunteering, as I reflected on after just days of working there: The IRC sees more than 200 guests per day, and seems to only employ about 10 people. That alone tells you the most important concept: they are ambitious, they are driven, and they are hard-working. These are characteristics they must have with their specific goals.In addressing the whole group, Michelle [the executive director] spoke of her continued efforts to do interviews and press and expressed her goals to not only raise awareness of homelessness, but to change the stigma attached to it. Most importantly, she admitted that she recognized and often acknowledged how her perspective on the issue was shaped by who she was. She recognized that as being an important step in making the IRC a functional and inclusive place for everyone. Michelle noted that when doing press, she refused to take an interview alone, but insisted on a guest accompanying her and sharing their story. There is a deep need for the people struggling with this issue to be the ones contributing to the dialogue about it, in order to help us construct a reality in society that does it more justice. The IRC is invaluable in our community, but even more significant was that it opened my eyes to not only pressing needs in our area, but the ability I had to help. Comments are closed.
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