About Dunwoody reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 20??-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 2021)
DUN 18 | Commentary Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News ty/orfk ICnAwCnj Carol Niemi is a marketing consultant who lives on the Dunwoody-Sandy Springs line and writes about people whose lives inspire others. Contact her at worthknowingnow@gmail.com. How shopping can help to prevent homelessness in the pandemic crisis With Atlanta unemployment at a his torically low 2.8 percent, 1 out of 5 resi dents in 2019 still lived below the feder al poverty line of $26,172 annual income for a four-person household, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Even with at least one adult employed full-time, these families struggled to cover rent, food, utilities and other basic expenses. Then came COVID-19. On March 13, 2020, the economy shut down. Families already struggling were clobbered. And even as the economy showed signs of re covery at the end of 2020, those living in poverty remained in crisis. But they were not abandoned, thanks to a number of concerned nonprofits. One of them was Buckhead Christian Ministry, whose mission is to “keep peo ple from becoming homeless and work to elevate their possibilities for econom ic empowerment.” “These families were already stressed out before the pandemic, working for wages insufficient to meet their expens es,” said BCM President and CEO Keeva Kase. “The pandemic complicated every thing for them.” It also complicated ev erything for the non-prof its that help them. In the year leading up to the shut down, BCM spent $902,134 on direct client benefit. A year later, that number is $2,567,859 - requiring more funding during a time when major fundraisers are not happening. In response, BCM has streamlined its services to focus on the greatest need and offers both one-time emergency financial assis tance and longer-term sup port and education. Emergency assistance helps families with the sud den inability to pay rent, mortgage or utilities because of illness or death in the family, loss of job, reduc tion in work hours or pay, or major un expected expenses. Longer-term assistance is more com prehensive, lasting 12 to 18 months dur ing which time families build a founda tion for economic stability by finding more appropriate housing and receiv ing weekly case management, bi-weekly coaching on key issues, money-manage ment education, debt remediation and savings matches of up to $1,000. And, of course, there’s the issue of simply making more money. “Warehouses need forklift drivers, HVAC needs repair people, and there are many customer-assistance positions available,” said Kase. “So, we pay for pro fessional training for people to do these higher-wage jobs. We also teach resume writing and interviewing skills.” For BCM, like all of us, surviving the pandemic required major changes. Ev eryone immediately began working re motely, but with less disruption than ex pected thanks to already having moved many functions online. The totally ren ovated and expanded thrift store closed just two months after its grand reopen ing. The food pantry closed. And the scramble began for funding to meet the growing need. According to Kase, some of these changes have had unexpectedly positive consequences. “We recognized that what we do best is direct financial assistance,” he said. “So, we closed our food pantry and do nated 5,000 pounds of food to anoth er nonprofit. Now we focus entirely on rent, mortgages and utilities.” And by interviewing applicants vir tually rather than in person, BCM case managers can handle significantly more appointments a day. “We were already overwhelmed be fore the pandemic,” said Kase. “Now we’re spending more money than ever in our history by a factor of three.” The good news is that the nonprofits that are helping people are also helping one another. “It’s a truism [that] we can’t do this alone. We’re coming together while we’re apart,” said Kase. When I asked him what our readers could do to help besides donating mon ey, he replied simply: “Shop.” He was referring to BCM’s now-re- opened thrift store called Buckhead THRIFTique. To see for myself, I visited THRIF Tique, where Director of Retail Oper ations Michelle Krompegal gave me a tour. What I saw looked more like a high- end consignment store than a thrift store. The front section was full of qual ity furniture, lamps, china, silver and crystal, plus jewelry and an ample book section. Beyond that was an expanse of clothing for men, women and children - with business suits for men, copious amounts of denim and all manner of other garments displayed by style and color. My biggest surprise was the selection of dreamy, like- new wedding dresses - a def inite wow. “We have great donors,” said Krompegal, who accepts only the best items and sells or donates the rest to other charities. THRIFTique is located at 800 Miami Circle, Suite 160, in Buckhead. Hours are Tues day through Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. The store fol lows strict Centers for Dis ease Control and Prevention pandemic safety guidelines, accepts credit cards, and provides deliv ery for a fee. For information, call 404- 365-8811 or go to buclcheadchristianmin- istry.org/thriftique.
