Unsung heroes of Housing for New Hope


On the day of her move-in, Linda (left) received a visit from Rapid Rehousing Coordinator Cynthia Harris. “I just wanted to see how she was doing,” said Harris. “And I think I’ll be able to give her a rug that will fit perfectly in her new living room.” (Staff photo by Jessica Coates)

On the day of her move-in, a client named Linda (left) received a visit from Rapid Rehousing Coordinator Cynthia Harris. “I just wanted to see how she was doing,” said Harris. “And I think I’ll be able to give her a rug that will fit perfectly in her new living room.” (Staff photo by Jessica Coates)

Rapid Rehousing Program Coordinator Cynthia Harris believes that affordable housing should be available to everyone.

“We’re not afraid to talk to anyone,” Harris says. “And when people call us, even if we can’t help them, we’re willing to give them resources to put them in the right direction. We don’t want them to leave New Hope without having hope.”

Harris, who has been with Housing for New Hope for seven years, says she always tries to keep this idea with her.

“Some days, we have a hectic day,” Harris says. “But if you answer your phone in a rushed mood, that comes through. So, when my phone rings, whoever is on that other end, I’m going to be as pleasant to them as I can be, because I don’t know what they’re going through.”

Harris’s department, which consists of herself and two case workers, focuses on finding affordable housing for homeless people and on helping those people keep up with their rent and household bills.

“Since we’ve been with New Hope, it’s made me change the way I look at things,” says Ashley Best, a client of Harris’s since July 2014. “I’ve noticed that, because I know I have that help with money, I’m able to do more with it. And my kids have noticed it, too.”

Best, who has six children between the ages of 3 and 14, works as a phlebotomist, but was still unable to keep up with her rent.

“New Hope helps with my utilities, and if I need food, I know I can call Miss Cynthia,” Best says. “They even helped with school supplies, which was awesome.”

In addition to Best, the Rapid Rehousing team is expecting to help 69 other households by February 2015, which could mean upwards of 200 people.

“Our goal is to have them in housing within 30 days,” Harris says. “There have been some cases where we’ve had them in houses within five days. It just depends on what that person’s looking for.”

And what the person is looking for really is important, Harris adds.

“I remember helping this one guy,” Harris says. “He found an apartment, but I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t happy. But he was going to settle for it, because he wanted to get out of the shelter.

“I sat him down and told him, ‘You don’t have to take that, because if you don’t like where you’re staying, you’re not going to want to keep it up.’ So I asked my case manager to take him back out and look at one more apartment. The rent for it’s going to take up half of his income, but I told him we’re going to teach him how to pay his bills, how to build up a credit on his rent and how to pay things in advance.”

Nigel Brown, one of the Rapid Rehousing case workers, is in charge of finding these homes that clients eventually move into. Previously employed as a general contractor, Brown has a good idea of both housing and serving the community.

“I dealt with a lot of men in the community because I employed them,” Brown says. “So I was able to experience a lot of things firsthand, because I was a hands-on boss and they brought a lot of their issues to me.”

But he says that his job at New Hope has given him a chance to do “everything I’ve ever wanted to.”

“I was born into a place of privilege,” Brown says, “and there were a lot of things I didn’t have to experience. Yet I saw others around me and I really wanted to help; I just didn’t know how. Housing for New Hope has given me the answer to how.”

In addition to the Rapid Rehousing department, Housing for New Hope has many other programs, including transitional housing for women, homelessness prevention and street outreach. For more information on each of these programs, visit Housing for New Hope’s website.

Additionally, if you think that you qualify for assistance, contact Cynthia Harris at (919) 323-2805. You can see if you qualify at the website of Housing and Urban Development.

 

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