Our community has made significant progress over the last two years on ending chronic homelessness and reducing all types of homelessness. Our partners have worked tirelessly to strengthen Guilford County's system of care. Please take a moment to view our community report card which details accomplishments made possible through partnerships in Guilford County over the past two years.
Partners Ending Homelessness Brochure
On Monday, June 1st the Partners Ending Homelessness Initiative held its 2009 Community Stakeholders Meeting, “Report from the Field,” at NewBridge Bank Park. The event featured a presentation of a community report card on homelessness which detailed Guilford County’s progress on implementing the Ten Year Plan over the past two years. In addition, one of the community volunteers gave a personal testimony about his process of change in his feelings, attitudes, and beliefs about homelessness as he became involved with the work of the initiative. The Initiative also recognized businesses, foundations, and individuals for their significant accomplishments toward ending chronic homelessness and reducing all types of homelessness by 2016 by introducing three new annual awards and honoring nine community citizens.
The Nehemiah Award for building walls of hope was presented to Temple Emanuel for their leadership around the issue of homelessness. They convened a Run for Shelter event, raising $10,000 for the Partners Ending Homelessness Initiative, participated in building homes through Habitat for Humanity, fed individuals at Greensboro Urban Ministry’s shelter one night each week and planted a Mitzvah Garden to supply fresh food to Greensboro Urban Ministry. They played an active role in the development of the Ten Year Plan and its implementation. Rabbi Fred Guttman accepted the award on behalf of Temple Emanuel.
The second award, the Time Counts Award recognized the important contributions made by a business or community partner. The Time Counts Award was presented to the Guilford
Center. Billie M. Pierce, Director of the Guilford Center accepted the award on the agency’s behalf. The Guilford Center has worked on many levels to ensure the success of the Initiative, through work to receive a grant that allowed our community to implement Housing First, establishing a new position that works to ensure residents have access to safe, decent and affordable housing, providing public mental health care, and providing 24-hour crisis services. The Guilford Center staff have joined us in countless ways, and always with the sense of urgency that Time Counts and we must move forward!
The last award presented was the Servant Leadership Award, given to the Initiative’s Chair David S. Miller. David S. Miller has been a servant of this community for many years, working to improve the quality of life for all his fellow citizens and has truly furnished something needed – compassion, energy, and selflessness. Miller has worked tirelessly in the community, serving on numerous boards such as Guilford Technical Community College, “I Am Now,” the Children’s Cabinet, High Point’s Economic Development Corporation, Open Door Ministries, United Way of Greater High Point and many others.
Nine individuals were honored for their support of our mission of eliminating chronic homelessness and reducing all other types of homelessness, ultimately improving the quality of life for every resident in our community during the last two years. These individuals have participated in a host of different activities from initiating the development of the Ten Year Plan, to supporting jurisdictional adoption and expanding resources for the Plan's implementation, to sustaining momentum and encouraging the community’s support of programs that address homelessness in our community, to advocating for the development of a day center, to increasing the visibility of homelessness as a serious issue in our community, to working directly with individuals experiencing homelessness through street outreach. They are truly dedicated to improving the quality of life for all their fellow citizens and we are truly grateful for thework that they have done.
Paul Gibson, Guilford County Commissioner
Becky Smothers, High Point Mayor
T. Dianne Bellamy-Small, City of Greensboro Councilwoman
Mitch McGee, Family Service of the Piedmont Housing Support Team
Dan Hodgson, Hope Outreach Center and retired High Point Police Officer
Tom Blount, The High Point Enterprise
Nicky Smith, CarolinaNet
Anne Kimball, Guilford Center
Wes Ward, Westover Church
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