Greensboro College's Healing Blues Project Features Concert with Adrian Duke and Lawyers, Guns & Money Feb. 16

Adrian Duke

"GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Greensboro College presents a Healing Blues Project benefit concert featuring Adrian Duke, with special guests Lawyers, Guns & Money, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16.

The concert will be in Mane Stage at the college's Royce Reynolds Family Student Life Center, 1015 W. Market St. (corner of Tate Street). Admission is $10, with 50% of the door going to the Interactive Resource Center, a day center in downtown Greensboro for people experiencing homelessness.

Duke is a singer/songwriter/pianist in the New Orleans musical tradition of Professor Longhair and Dr. John. His music combines elements of New Orleans blues, classic soul, and Americana.

Lawyers, Guns & Money is a Greensboro-based blues band that has been active in the Healing Blues Project since its inception. The band contributed to the project's first CD, "The Healing Blues Project, Vol. 1," and is working on the second CD, currently in production and scheduled for release in early June.

The Healing Blues Project, begun by Greensboro College professors and local musicians, pairs local people experiencing homelessness or related issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder - "storytellers" -- with local musicians to turn the storytellers' life stories into blues songs.

The songs are recorded, with storytellers receiving songwriting credit and royalties; sales of the CDs benefit the Interactive Resource Center. To date, the project has given the center more than $10,000 from CD sales and concerts. 

Greensboro College provides a liberal-arts education grounded in the traditions of the United Methodist Church and fosters the intellectual, social, and, spiritual development of all students while supporting their individual needs.

Founded in 1838 and located near downtown Greensboro, the college enrolls about 1,000 students from 29 states and territories, the District of Columbia and seven foreign countries in its undergraduate liberal-arts program and four master's degree programs. In addition to rigorous academics and a well-supported Honors program, the school features a 17-sport NCAA Division III athletic program and dozens of service and recreational opportunities."

- A Press Release

YES! Weekly Donates $15,000 in Advertising to Greensboro College's Healing Blues Project

"GREENSBORO, N.C. -- YES! Weekly, a Piedmont Triad-based arts and entertainment publication, has agreed to donate $15,000 worth of advertising to an effort organized by Greensboro College to benefit the homeless.

The advertising will support and promote the college's Healing Blues Project, which seeks to raise money to benefit the nonprofit Interactive Resource Center, a day center in downtown Greensboro for people dealing with homelessness and related issues.

The Healing Blues Project unites local homeless people, called "storytellers," with area musicians, including the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society, to turn the storytellers' life stories into blues songs. A CD of the songs was released in October 2014.

The Healing Blues Project Vol. 2, which will include both songs and spoken-word compositions, is scheduled to be released in June 2016.

Proceeds from sales of the CDs, as well as concert performances of the music, benefit the Interactive Resource Center. Storytellers also receive songwriting credit and a portion of the royalties.

"The Healing Blues Project is something that is near and dear to my heart," YES! Weekly publisher Charles Womack said. "As a long-time supporter of the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society and the annual (blues) festival, a blues music fan and someone who wants to do anything and everything I can to help those in need, this is something we wanted to get behind in a big, big way."

He added, "It made sense to me that promoting and creating awareness of The Healing Blues Project to the generous and caring readers of YES! Weekly would make a significant impact and bring in some needed donations."

Kim Thore, the college's marketing director, says the college will use the advertising to promote Healing Blues benefit concerts and the release of the Healing Blues Vol. 2 CD.

"We are very grateful for this support from YES! Weekly," Thore said. "Advertising is very important to the success of any project, and this gift will help ensure that the Greensboro community and beyond are informed of all of the exciting events that will be coming from this next phase of the Healing Blues Project."

Greensboro College provides a liberal-arts education grounded in the traditions of the United Methodist Church and fosters the intellectual, social, and, spiritual development of all students while supporting their individual needs.

Founded in 1838 and located near downtown Greensboro, the college enrolls about 1,000 students from 29 states and territories, the District of Columbia and seven foreign countries in its undergraduate liberal-arts program and four master's degree programs. In addition to rigorous academics and a well-supported Honors program, the school features a 17-sport NCAA Division III athletic program and dozens of service and recreational opportunities."

- A Press Release

Open Letter from Liz Seymour

Dear Friends,

This has not been an easy couple of days for those who care about the Interactive Resource Center and the people it serves. Starting on Sunday, June 1 Susan Ladd of the Greensboro News & Record published a three-part series on the IRC that painted a picture of a place where verbal abuse and sexual harassment are common and unchecked, where people are humiliated, ignored and mistreated, and where the leadership is irresponsible and out of touch.

Yesterday at the morning meeting, a daily gathering of the IRC clients, volunteers and staff, I asked people if they had seen what had been written in the paper. There were about four dozen clients in the day room at the time, drinking iced tea, conversing, waiting to do their laundry or to see a nurse. One man shook his head. "She talked to the wrong people," he said. "I wish she had talked to me."

A woman on the other side of the room put her hand up. "What she said, it's not the way it is at all," she said. "The IRC helped me get back on my feet a couple of years ago and when things went wrong again I knew just where to come. The IRC is my soft landing." The room broke into applause. Another man stood up to speak. "This isn't just an attack on the IRC," he said. "This feels like an attack on all of us."

The series made some very specific allegations about the IRC that deserve to be addressed directly.

• IRC staff members do not verbally abuse or curse guests. Staff members themselves are sometimes subject to verbal abuse and cursing from clients, but they respond with restraint, firmness and professionalism.

• The IRC Board and I take all allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior very seriously, as should any public place, but especially a place that serves a vulnerable and traumatized population. In only one case has an investigation identified actual wrong-doing. That investigation resulted in a staff member being discharged immediately (this was about a year and a half ago).

• The IRC has protocols in place for distributing bus passes, financial assistance, clothing etc. (a person must, for instance, have a verifiable job interview or other verifiable need before we will issue a bus pass) which means that sometimes people don't get what they want, but that doesn't mean that staff members "play favorites" about who gets services and resources.

• The IRC staff does not maintain "inappropriate relationships" with clients. Susan Ladd chose to take the word of one of her sources over the word of IRC staff members. She was misinformed.

• Much of the criticism in the series centered around Will Howard, who serves as both Employment Specialist and Assistant Executive Director. As gatekeeper to more resources than anyone else on staff-bus passes, work boots, interview clothing, etc., and as the one most responsible for the IRC's daily logistics-he is the staff member who has to say "no" the most often and who has to enforce IRC policy most rigorously. It should not be overlooked that in the first four months of 2014 Will Howard and his volunteers helped 130 people find work, including 39 permanent full-time jobs.

• I do not ignore complaints about problems.   I maintain an open-door policy and am always willing to stop and talk to anyone who has a concern.  We have a grievance policy posted throughout the building and I recently reviewed it with our clients at a morning meeting.  Given the number of people we see daily-200 or more-- the complaints are very few and most are minor things that can be resolved immediately.  What didn't make it into Susan's article is the number of people who stop me in the halls of the IRC and out in the community to thank me for what the IRC has done for them.

During a lengthy interview with me Susan maintained that many issues at the IRC go unreported because people are afraid of retaliation and especially of being banned for speaking out. I explained to her that we don't ban people for speaking out (and, in fact, two of the people Susan quoted at length in her articles were at the IRC yesterday getting services). No single staff member can ban a client: that is a decision made by the entire staff and only after every other option has been exhausted. The criteria we use to make that decision are the safety of other clients; the impact someone's behavior has on our ability to serve other clients; and the person's willingness to work towards change. In over five years of operation and nearly 9,000 individuals served only 62 people have been banned, which speaks both to the staff's reluctance to give up on anyone and the respect IRC clients show to the organization and to each other.

I am proud of what the Greensboro community-homeless and housed-has created together at the IRC and frankly, as I finish my final month with the IRC, I am proud of the work I have done here. I am equally excited to see where incoming Executive Director Michelle Kennedy and our excellent staff and Board will be able to take what is still a very young organization.

As one man who came into my office yesterday said: "They say don't bite the hand that feeds you. Well, the IRC is the kind of place where you bite the hand and it feeds you anyway." As long as the need is still there the IRC will still be there, offering a helping hand, meeting people where they are and doing whatever we can to help some of the most vulnerable members of our community reach their goals.

Liz Seymour
Executive Director

via email

Interactive Resource Center names new executive director

Michelle Kennedy

Michelle Kennedy comes to the IRC with more than a decade of experience advocating for and collaborating with low-income individuals and families. Her work has included helping families stay together, advocating for healthy and energy-efficient affordable homes, and helping broaden access to healthcare. Board Chair Bob Newton says, "The Board of Directors looks forward to working with Michelle. She will be an effective leader of the IRC and a passionate advocate for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Guilford County. "

Kennedy replaces founding Executive Director Liz Seymour who retires from the IRC at the end of June. Kennedy currently serves as Interim Executive Director at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) in Los Angeles, California, a social justice organization in
South Central Los Angeles. While at SAJE she developed a pilot program with the LA Department of Public Health, implemented a partnership with a federally-qualified nonprofit health center utlilizing a mobile health clinic to provide free healthcare and doctor-led house calls to homeless populations and those living in substandard housing conditions, and helped to organize community engagement actions that led to the passage of an LA city council moratorium on fracking and oil extraction. Prior to assuming the position at SAJE, Kennedy helped develop and implement the Greensboro Housing Coalition's Advancing Safe and Healthy Homes Initiative and has worked with the NC State Energy Office, the Guilford Center and Habitat for Humanity. In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina she took a leave of absence from her work as a Program Manager at Methodist Home for Children to be part of a team dispatched to begin the re-housing and re-building
efforts in Louisiana.

"I am thrilled to be joining the team at the Interactive Resource Center," Kennedy said. "The work that is being done at the IRC to help people who are experiencing homelessness is not only essential to individual success but the future success of our entire community. I look forward to sustaining and growing the critical work of the IRC. "

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- press release

Liz Seymour to leave the Interactive Resource Center this summer

Liz Seymour, a founder and the current director of Greensboro's Interactive Resource Center, is leaving the organization this summer, according to a press release the IRC sent out this morning. Here is the full press release:

Liz Seymour, Executive Director of the Interactive Resource Center, has announced that she will be leaving the Interactive Resource Center at the end of June.  Seymour, who was part of the group that founded the day center for people experiencing homelessness, has been Executive Director of the IRC since June 2009.

"I am extremely proud of what we have been able to accomplish in five years," says Seymour.  "There are many many people in Greensboro whose lives are better because of this extraordinary community effort."

Since it opened in January 2009 the IRC has served over 8,000 people.  The Center's services include showers, laundry, case management, employment assistance, residential counseling, medical care and more.  Among the major partners of the IRC are the Congregational Nurse Program, the Congregational Social Work Educational Initiative, Triad Adult & Pediatric Medicine, GTCC and the Veterans' Administration.  The IRC, which began in rented space on East Bessemer Avenue, now occupies a 22,000 square foot building in downtown Greensboro donated by the Richard Strasser family to the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro for the express purpose of housing a day center.

"The IRC is now positioned to be a strong and contributing partner with others in the community as we continue our effort to end homelessness in Guilford County," says Bob Newton, IRC Board Chair. 

"Greensboro owes Liz Seymour a big vote of recognition and thanks for her vision, her steadfast commitment to an ideal, and her tireless effort on behalf of all those experiencing homelessness."

A call for applications will be posted on the IRC website in early February. 

Art, activism and hair come together in photo and film exhibit

Hair stylist and community organizer Shaina Machlus (left) with her mother

"The reason I decided to be a cosmetologist is that I realized you could do some serious community organizing through hair," Shaina Machlus said before a packed house at the Interactive Resource Center on Friday evening.

Machlus, a Guilford College graduate and professional hair stylist who gives free haircuts to people experiencing homelessness at the Interactive Resource Center, is the instigator of the Hair Do Project.

A crowd diverse in age, race and income level representing the intersecting worlds of activism, art and cosmetology gathered at the Interactive Resource Center for the a photo exhibit, documentary premiere and panel discussion on Friday.

Machlus later explained during the panel discussion that she envisioned the project as a way to draw out personal stories from people based on their experiences with hair and to string them together into a social history that will empower collective transformation.

"If you want to have a nice social experiment, ask them about their hair," she said. "If people don't want to talk about anything else, they'll talk about their hair, whether they have it or not."

Ed Whitfield

Interview subjects seated in a barber chair (or standing behind it) discuss how a hair cut affects their self-image, and builds self-confidence to go to a job interview or build relationships with others in a documentary made by Kevin Smith. One woman talks about getting her hair cut shorter to prepare for the hair loss following a cancer diagnosis, and several interview subjects, including Machlus, talk about their worst haircuts.

A celebratory mood highlighting a sense of collaboration pervaded the unveiling of the Hair Do Project, which received funding from the NC Humanities Council. 

"I'm so happy to be part of a Southern city that's so ripe to become so much more equitable, engaged and communal," Machlus said.

Photos of Interactive Resource Center's community work day

Volunteers pitched in today to get the Interactive Resource Center ready to open on Monday. The center, which serves people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, has a permanent location in what once was Southern Plate Glass at 407. E. Washington St. A grand opening is scheduled for June 3, in conjunction with First Friday.

The Greensboro City Council will consider a request from the Interactive Resource Center on Tuesday to commit $70,000 from funds already appropriated for the project. Executive Director Liz Seymour said the money would cover about $13,000 in change orders and help pay for furniture.

Seymour said that five out of eight members of staff were homeless at one time.

Housing specialist Teresa Hicks emphasized that the center offers opportunities for people in a variety of situations.

"The IRC is for everybody," she said. "It's not just for the homeless. It's for people who are facing homelessness. People sometimes draw back when they hear the word 'homeless.' If you're fine and everything is going well, it's a chance for you to give back. You might also be looking for employment, or you might have an apartment but your bills are too high for you to afford it. We're here to help."

The Interactive Resource Center has found creative ways to meet its own needs. The computer lab is outfitted with desktops provided by Handy Capable Computers at a cost of $200 apiece. And Will Howard, also with the center, said Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Vaughan has donated suit jackets that once belonged to her late father, former Atlantic Coast Conference assistant commissioner Fred Barakat. The jackets will be offered to clients to wear during job interviews.

One morning at the Interactive Resource Center

About 50 people were gathered in the lounge area at the Interactive Resource Center on Bessemer Avenue in Greensboro at 8:30 this morning. Tiffany, a member of staff, was facilitating the meeting.

“Raise your hand if you are in need of a North Carolina ID,” she said.

Most of the guests had arrived by bus after being picked up from breakfast programs at Grace Community Church or the Beloved Community Center’s hospitality house, Director Liz Seymour said. Others had walked in when the center opened at 8 a.m. Most but not all of the people in the room were African American. A few were sleeping; some were working on laptop computers.

“In some ways, it’s just like a meeting at a collective house,” Liz told me.

Liz and I were housemates for about a month when I first moved to Greensboro in December 2004. Or more accurately, I was a brief guest at the house on Mendenhall Street that Liz once owned and had turned into a housing collective populated and operated by a multi-generational group of punks, artists and activists.

Long after I moved a block away to my own apartment on Hillside Drive, Liz and I continued to work together in at least once a week to put together a meal with Food Not Bombs. Through that circle, I joined her in advocating for a homeless day center. I attended a handful of organizing meetings in that effort. The Mendenhall housing collective has since disbanded, but the experience has clearly left its mark on Liz's approach to life.

By January 2009, following the onset of a severe economic downturn and a cold winter, the Interactive Resource Center, or IRC, had opened at its temporary location in a church on Bessemer Avenue. In late March or early April, Liz said she expects the Interactive Resource Center to be ready to open its doors at its permanent home at 407 E. Washington St.

Married life, work and other preoccupations have taken me away from work on addressing homelessness in Greensboro. So, my visit this morning was both about catching up with an old friend and completing a circle of my past.

Interactive Resource Center might sound like a euphemism to wipe off the stigma associated with the term “homeless day center.” In fact, it’s a more accurate term for what takes place here on a daily basis. Borrowing from the philosophy of Food Not Bombs, the IRC consults closely with those it serves and involves them in the day-to-day operations, in addition to drawing on the community for time, talent and treasure to create a range of services to help homeless people get back on their feet.

“One of the things that I've taken away from Food Not Bombs is to assume that the things you need are out there,” Liz told me.

A case in point is the volunteer caseworkers that come in to meet with guests at no cost to the IRC. They are interns from a joint social work program at UNCG and NC A&T University. In still another room, equipped with desktop computers, volunteers work one on one with guests to help them update their computer skills. Some have difficulty with online job applications, and employers deluged with prospective employees are quick to weed out anyone who doesn't pass this test.

Back in the morning meeting, Tiffany was finalizing the list of people who need ID cards. The IRC is coordinating with the NC Division of Motor Vehicles to get them made. Having possession of a photo ID is critical to accessing services, including emergency shelter on a cold night. Many homeless people don’t drive, and not having a permanent place to stay means that oftentimes such an item gets misplaced.

One of the guests signed up for case management, a service available to everyone who walks through the door.

The next item on the agenda was laundry.

“Everybody understand the new people go first as far as laundry,” Tiffany said.

Then she called names for showers.

Next, Theresa Hicks, a member of the IRC’s board of directors with Trailways Housing, gave a brief presentation. She said her agency would try to find housing to fit the guests’ budget and could steer those with addiction issues into long-term residential treatment. They also register people to vote and provide help with taxes.

“That’s it,” she said. “I made that quick, didn’t I?”

Liz introduced me as a reporter, and invited the guests to ask questions or share their experiences with being homeless. The meeting quickly evolved into a forum for share wisdom and expertise.

One young woman was white, attractive, nicely dressed and well spoken — in other words, not exactly typecast for the role of “homeless person” in a movie. She talked about the stigma attached to homelessness, and about how many people in society don’t want homeless services located downtown because of concerns about “quality of life.” She noted that a stranger probably wouldn’t peg her as being homeless, and she doesn’t panhandle, although some mornings she wouldn’t mind having the money to buy a cup of coffee. The only thing that might give her away, she said, is that sometimes she can be seen talking to panhandlers.

“There is a distinction between the homeless and those who are ranting and raving,” she said. “That’s mental illness. Those people need treatment.”

Liz noted, “When people talk about quality of life, they often don’t ask, ‘Whose quality of life?’”

She likes to remind people that homelessness is a condition, not an identity.

“I guarantee that for every one of you here, there are two people who had exactly the same issues, but they had a safety net to avoid becoming homeless,” she said. “There is no crime in being homeless.”

A young African-American woman raised her hand.

“When you are online e-mailing your resume, what address do you put?” she asked. “I’m embarrassed, so I just put the state of North Carolina. I guess that’s why I’m still looking for a job.”

Tiffany asked if any of the guests might have some advice on this topic.

One man did. He said that most employers are more likely to respond to prospective employees through a phone number or e-mail, but that listing a geographic address can be helpful in projecting a sense of stability. He said that local agency without a major profile — in other words, not Urban Ministry or the Salvation Army — allows people to list their address on resumes. It looks like a residential address.

Two men wanted to talk to me about the issue of veterans being homeless. Both of them told me they had been unable to find landlords willing to rent to them because of felonies on their records. One said he had a drug charge that was supposed to have been expunged when he enlisted in the Marines and went over to fight in Somalia in the early 1990s. Another had ended up in a bar fight after returning from combat.

“There’s a 23-year-old veteran who’s homeless,” one of them said to me. “Tell me why that is.”