Nonprofit transforms lives of those battling addiction, homelessness, poverty

For over 80 years, Charlotte Rescue Mission has provided residential recovery programming to help people struggling with addiction, poverty and homelessness.

“Our 120-day residential recovery program includes: counseling, health care, workforce preparedness, educational programs, fitness, life-skills training and transitional services at no cost,” said Xavia Miles, manager of corporate and foundation relations for Charlotte Rescue Mission.

Typically, the nonprofit has 40 residents in transition, but due to the economic impact of the coronavirus, many of the residents having nowhere to go needed to extend their stay with the organization.

Miles said there are currently 60 residents waiting in transition and they expect to see an increase exponentially.

Many area nonprofits have been overwhelmed by the growing demand for support services and resources.

The United Way of Central Carolinas and Foundation For The Carolinas partnered to launch the COVID-19 Response Fund to support nonprofits who are assisting people most affected by the pandemic.

Charlotte Rescue Mission is a two-time recipient of the COVID-19 Response Fund grant receiving $100,000 in the second and third rounds.

The funding helped the organization expand housing options to maintain current residents and serve new ones, provide food and recovery support for program participants, equip staff and residents with sanitary items and personal protection equipment, purchase the infrastructure to allow employees to work remotely and fund the overtime needed for staff to tend to residents’ critical needs.

“To ensure our residents’ mental health and well-being, our staff worked overtime to bring our residents out of isolation (a trigger for relapse) to and from Camp Thunderbird for a day of outdoor activities,” Miles said. “Our nurses worked overtime with the health department to ensure we were following all COVID-19 safety protocols and tending to our residents’ medical needs.”

Charlotte Rescue Mission hopes that this crisis “mobilizes individuals and leadership to make equitable choices, policies and systems that edify and preserve all community members equally.”

“While we struggle to duplicate the connectedness facilitated by interactions with volunteers, staff, and community members, we increase hopefulness and maintain high-quality recovery programming through client feedback, clinical expertise, and cross-sector collaboration,” Miles said.

If you have an inspiring story to share, email Sinead Taylor, WSOC-TV community affairs specialist, at Sinead.Taylor@wsoc-tv.com.

Cox Media Group