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Program for homeless builds on its small start

Project Rush Hour gives pick-me-ups

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.”

He also said Orange County has the third-widest gap between rich and poor in the entire state.

Project Rush Hour is one of the IFC’s answers to this problem.

Trained student volunteers interview clients to determine what kind of services they need and whether they are eligible for financial assistance. Some cases involve writing a grant proposal, which the center’s leaders later review.

The group’s common services include providing food, bus tickets and clothing vouchers; filling out forms to help people obtain government identifications; and connecting clients with outside agencies that can help them.

Moran said he likes the philosophy behind the creation of Project Rush Hour.

“Hillel participants, decision-makers and students that wanted to do this felt that it was a very strong way of demonstrating economic justice for those who deserve the best resources that can be provided,” Moran said.

Senior anthropology major Anna Thompson said she appreciates the different perspective her three years with Project Rush Hour have provided her.

“There aren’t many opportunities to interact with people who really are living in poverty, especially in Carolina’s bubble,” Thompson said.

“I’m in class and worrying about my papers and grades, and I go there and talk to someone who is worrying about whether their landlord is going to evict them in two days.”

Though working with each client often brings an emotional burden, the program is also gratifying.

Thompson recalled one couple working to save money so they could move into an apartment together. The woman lived at the women’s homeless shelter and her partner at the men’s shelter.

“They came back two weeks later for food because they had spent all their money on a bed. They were so happy and holding hands,” Thompson said.

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“This program actually works.”

Through Project Rush Hour, Anderson has been able to act on her desire to alleviate the poverty around her.

She has been awarded a Robert E. Bryan Fellowship, given by the Carolina Center for Public Service to students who support projects that address needs within North Carolina.

Anderson will use the money this summer in order to construct a long-term development plan to help the center better serve the Hispanic community, which constitutes about one-fourth of Project Rush Hour’s clientele.

She said she views the program as a continually expanding service.

“Last year, we operated only Wednesdays, and now we have added another evening. Last year we didn’t serve Hispanics, and now there are always five Hispanics in the waiting line,” she said.

“You’ve got to start small and work from there.”

 

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.

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