Kesson Anderson remembers walking along Franklin Street as a young girl and being repeatedly approached by panhandlers.
Every corner meant another person she had to avoid, but also an increase in her conviction that action needed to be taken.
Now a UNC sophomore, Anderson, a Pittsboro native, is the coordinator of Project Rush Hour. It’s a student-run division of the Inter-Faith Council’s Crisis Intervention Program, which provides services such as food, clothing, rent and transportation to people in need during crises.
“It’s interesting, because I grew up in this community and homelessness has always been an issue for me,” Kesson said. “I’ve always struggled to understand how to make a difference.”
Project Rush Hour, founded in 2002 by former student Liz Kistin, is a joint initiative of N.C. Hillel and the IFC.
It uses the crisis center’s resources to continue the facility’s work into the evening, keeping it open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. The extended hours allow people to come in after work.
“The Crisis Intervention Center is now a lot more accessible for an expanded number of clients,” Anderson said.
Orange County’s level of poverty should be a red flag for the community, said Chris Moran, IFC executive director, adding that 14.1 percent of county residents live in poverty.
“This has always been an alarming reality in Orange County, and sometimes I feel people don’t pay attention to it.”