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.
