Love Chatham, a non-profit organization established in Siler City in early 2021, is a common banner under which churches, businesses and people from Chatham County can come together to serve and love those in our community suffering from homelessness and hunger. This week, we speak with its executive director, Dakota Philbrick, about its work.
Philbrick, a Chatham native, is a graduate of Chatham Central High School. He earned a degree in business management and computer information systems from Appalachian State University. Over the last 15 years he has gained experience in accounting principles, project management, information technologies and small business entrepreneurship all over the southeast before moving back to N.C. in 2020.
The greatest need is for emergency housing resources. We’re seeing a growing need. We’ve been receiving more and more phone calls from families, single mothers and victims of domestic violence. We’re aware of 50-60 people right now who are in crisis mode, many of whom remain unsheltered. Last year during the winter Love Chatham supported almost 50 people at its peak by paying for their hotel rooms. While we have benefited from resources, we know the system won’t be able to handle that this winter. Sadly there will be families, children, men, and women out in the cold this year. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. It’s the reality we’re facing.
We have community members who are hurting. Unsheltered. Or they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Operating in this space, with emergency housing needs, has really been an eye-opening experience for me and many members of our community who have given back by being generous with their service, time, energy and resources. There are so many gaps right now for those experiencing homelessness.
There’s still this stigma out there that I see sometimes where folks can’t get help because they’re being labeled. Or because of a general lack of community education and support. But what about the family that was burned out of their home? Or the single mother fleeing an abusive partner? Or what about the handicapped lady in a wheelchair who has absolutely nowhere to go because there’s such a lack of affordable housing?
Or what about the time where Love Chatham got a call in the middle of the night because another community member locked a disabled lady out of their home, after changing their mind about giving this person a place to stay? What about the rising costs where the average family has to spend an extra $460/month in N.C. to cover basic costs — housing and food?
What about the person that missed work because of sickness or COVID and fell behind and was unable to make up the difference? What about the person waiting for affordable housing — knowing that many of those wait lists are 30-50 people long? What about the family that was living in a house that wasn’t habitable because of major problems with the home, or the family that had their rent increased so much and they were pushed out? What about the apartment that decided not to staff their office or the landlord who never returns a call, text or email? Or what about the landlord or management company that forced their tenants to go online to pay their rent when not everyone has access to a checking account — further causing delinquency?
Every single one of these has a story behind it. Every single one of those situations are examples of what we’ve seen.
Are we really doing this to each other? Are we really turning our backs on each other like this? There are a lot of great people willing to help. Folks that we work with every day. However, we also see a lot of systemic problems that have absolutely nothing to do with the person that might be experiencing homelessness.
We’ve got to do better.
Right now the only option available is to put someone in a hotel. That is really expensive. It’s not practical. It’s not a long-term solution. It’s also not the best use of community resources — although we’re grateful to have the opportunity to put someone up in a hotel — we also are keenly aware that we need better solutions that are more cost effective and more efficient. We need more stable housing solutions and we also need more emergency housing options. I challenge myself and my community to do the right thing. The truth is, we’re supposed to love our neighbors. Mark 12:31 says “...Love your neighbor as yourself.” And further in Matthew 5:42 “Give to those who ask, and don’t refuse those who wish to borrow from you.”
What I’d really like to challenge ourselves on is to look at your neighbor, to look at yourself, and to know that if you had an emergency need that you could count on one another. To know that your community would be there to love you and also to know exactly where you could go and who you could reach out to during your time of need.
It’s all about relationships. Everything is relational. Love your neighbor. Share one another’s burdens. Galatians 6:2 “ Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”
The area has some resources available through the non-profits as well as county level resources. We’ve been blessed with this great energy that the service providers bring and this push that’s happening right now to center ourselves on creating solutions for the community. Love Chatham, an agency of United Way of Chatham County, partners with so many wonderful folks and organizations like Salvation Army, United Way, CPCA and the Department of Social Services, Second Bloom, CORA, Food Lion, Mountaire, as well as other county resources looking to provide solutions. We’ve received support from the Lions Club in Siler City, PUMC and First Fruits Harvest, and New Salem Church. So many more that I wish I could list and name them all. All these things matter. It adds up. It’s a cumulative effect.
There is some transitional housing available through the housing authority. Housing voucher programs are also available. Affordable housing exists. Rapid Rehousing through CPCA. Emergency assistance through Love Chatham and Salvation Army is available. DSS will also step in to alleviate some emergencies and has programs available for those that are experiencing hardships. Second Bloom is a resource available for Domestic Violence victims. Here’s the deal though, these programs are tapped out. There are so many more people needing assistance than there is capacity to serve. United Way recently shared that 211 has had a 180% increase in calls coming in requesting emergency housing assistance. The gap that we see, it’s obvious, that a lot of that could be solved by connecting our programs even more through better overall emergency housing solutions — transitional housing programs and emergency shelter options. In this way, our community can come together and love those neighbors that are experiencing homelessness or have another basic need being unmet.
We get numerous requests for things during our distributions and these are items that frequently come up that are needed. As a matter of fact, about 80% of our ministry wait-list for folks experiencing homelessness are women and a good number of those are single mothers. Our distribution events are open to the public so we’re not just serving those experiencing homelessnes, but we have crossover between ministries and we know that families are struggling to keep up. This is just one way we can help. The pandemic disproportionately affected single working mothers and it has made it hard for community members to meet basic needs. I really think it’s important for the community to continue to find ways to rally around each other, and our hard working mothers and families just need a little assistance with basic items right now.
We’re also accepting adult diapers. Chatham County has an aging population — 25% over 65 years old — and it’s also an area of need. We’ve been blessed with some adult diaper donations already, but those are another item that frequently gets requested. I was a bit surprised by that when seeking feedback on requested items for the clothing closet and this came up as an area that has some need that we would like to cover some ground on for our adult community members that need diapers.
Coats are being asked for because it’s a seasonal need, and at this time we’re limited in our clothing closet choices for coats because of the high demand. With our Nov. 5 distribution event some coats were brought in, and before we could get them through the door to sort through what was being donated, all the coats were already spoken for and distributed to the public within just a few minutes of receiving them. Folks that were there at the distribution event saw me bringing coats in and immediately jumped on the opportunity. So it’s an area of need.
We’ll be doing more drives in the future around other things that we hear from our community where there’s a need. It’s important to us that we keep this going so we can continue to pivot and be flexible in meeting the needs of the community.
We’ve been blessed with some donations already. The Goldston Rotary Club blessed us with some coats. And we’d certainly like to thank them for those donations.
Donations can be delivered to Freedom Family Church — Siler City, which is located at 421 N. Holly Avenue during our distributions from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 3 and Dec. 17.
Just reach out to me on the dedicated Love Chatham line at 919-726-9976 or by email dakota@lovechatham.org. Lou Giovenco is available as well for making donation arrangements at 941-468-5130 or email lougiovenco@gmail.com.
Our schedule can be a little more sporadic during the week as we work to meet community needs, so it’s recommended to reach out to make arrangements.
I have to say that in my time as the executive director for Love Chatham that we’ve been blessed to be surrounded by and supported by some exceptionally dedicated and talented folks.
Rose, who is one of our dedicated and talented volunteers, started to notice that we were throwing away clothing donations that came in that couldn’t be circulated in our clothing closet. Too many holes or too many stains. It’s a small percentage of donations but still enough that started to catch the attention of some of the volunteers that are dedicated to the clothing closet ministry. So her idea was to take the old cloth and make something new. She’s started working with other like-minded volunteers who want to make the most of the resources we’ve been given. We’re a frugal organization and we don’t like throwing things away. The sewing ministry will focus on turning those old items into blankets and gloves and scarves and so forth. It’s still early on so we don’t know how everything will turn out. That’s not stopping us from trying though. The community is invited to participate and volunteer toward this ministry. Contact Rose — 908-887-9578 or email rosekish3@gmail.com to connect with this ministry.
First, for anyone that has offered assistance or supported the programs available, you need to know that your contribution has made an impact in someone’s life. You may not know that person. You may not get to see the outcome of your contribution, but I can promise you, it matters. That shirt you gave clothed a neighbor. That can of food you donated to your local food bank — it fed a neighbor. The dollars that you contributed — they may have housed a neighbor or provided a meal or offered additional financial assistance to keep the power from being turned off. The time you contributed to volunteering — it not only directly gives back to the community, but also strengthens our grant writing capacity and helps us expand our programs and our community reach. It’s this outpouring of love that makes the community a better place to live. As the old adage goes, be the change that you wish to see in the world.
You could set up a donation drive right at your church or your business or in other areas of your community like at your school. Last year we were blessed with donations from a local “socktober” drive that one of the local schools completed. 3M, from the Pittsboro facility, is donating to us this year as well by providing a pair of socks, comb, bar of soap and a granola bar in what they’re referring to as a “sock bundle.” There are so many ways to contribute. We have a group sponsoring a fundraiser to buy a new stove for an older couple that lives in Pittsboro. We received matching donations to help supply someone in need with a generator to run her refrigerator and to help provide her with heat during the colder months. We received matching donations to provide a working washer and dryer for a community member. There are so many ways to get involved.
It doesn’t have to be diapers and coats. We take all kinds of donations like clothing, food, furniture donations for our growing furniture ministry, and certainly monetary and many other types of donations. We have community members that let us use their trailers, box trucks, personal vehicles, RVs and the list goes on. I just encourage you to consider giving. It’s a blessing to the community.