Two years ago, city leaders set out on a mission to end chronic homelessness by the end of 2016. It was an ambitious goal—one very few cities in the country have even considered. So, how close are we?
IN A LARGE WAREHOUSE about a mile and a half northeast of uptown, Hadarii Jones surveys the stacks and rows of furniture that will be given, free of charge, to people who need it. At least 15 couches of varying sizes sit in the middle of the warehouse, surrounded by lines of armchairs 12 rows deep. Off to the right are bookcases, shelving units, small tables, entertainment stands, televisions, lamps, and framed artwork. Mattresses and box springs line the back wall and side walls in piles at least eight feet tall. The furniture, ranging from design floor chic to dorm room comfy, has been donated from households all over the city. Ikea donates items, including beds, once a week. Electrolux provides window air conditioning units, the most-requested item during Charlotte’s humid summers.
Jones, a tall man with stick-straight posture, strides through the narrow passageways between the furniture, keeping an attentive gaze on his coworkers at the loading dock. He started out as a truck driver for the Crisis Assistance Ministry Furniture Bank five years ago, picking up donated items to bring to the warehouse and delivering them to the people who choose them during “shopping trips.”
Since then, Jones has received several promotions, and he now oversees daily operations at the furniture bank and the Free Store. Only four full-time staff members work in this division of the Crisis Assistance Ministry, so he relies heavily on volunteers to help organize and sort furniture. The group serves an average of 40 households each week. Jones helps coordinate when the trucks go out, deals with caseworkers, processes donations and ensures items are in good condition, and serves customers. Last year, his coworkers named him employee of the year.
This story is from the December 2016 edition of Charlotte Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 2016 edition of Charlotte Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
‘This Is How We're Going to Make Your Child Better'
Pediatric neurosurgery is technically and emotionally complex—and traditionally dominated by men. As Novant’s first female pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Erin Kiehna Richardson has had to learn the intricacies of a demanding field and battle sexism along the way
The Dumbledore of CMC
A surgery resident wrote a series of children’s books and created a special kind of medical magic
LGBTQ HB2+5
Five years after the furor of House Bill 2, the LGBTQ community—in Charlotte, in North Carolina, and across much of the nation—fights attacks on new fronts
Oh, Snap!
New ‘selfie museum’ in Concord celebrates the 1990s
ALLISON LATOS
The WSOC anchor on her hard trek from one episode of loss and grief to another—and the meaning of resilience
GOOD HEALTH
For years, Charlotte has been one of the largest American cities that lacked a four-year medical school. The health care professionals who finally made it happen overcame a series of setbacks, false starts, and failures, and they plan to use their clean slate to create a new kind of community asset
Summer Partee
From woodwork to retail, the kindergarten teacher-turned-designer has learned how to do it herself
Uptown or Downtown?
Archives illuminate how long we’ve argued over the perennial question
NOW OPEN NOVEL ITALIAN
Paul Verica brings a simpler version of the city’s hottest food trend to NoDa
TOP DOCTORS 2021
The annual list you can't without
