Homes for Everyone

Two years ago, city leaders set out on a mission to end chronic homelessness by the end of 2016. It was an ambitious goal—one very few cities in the country have even considered. So, how close are we?

- Emily Ethridge

IN A LARGE WAREHOUSE about a mile and a half northeast of uptown, Hadarii Jones surveys the stacks and rows of furniture that will be given, free of charge, to people who need it. At least 15 couches of varying sizes sit in the middle of the warehouse, surrounded by lines of armchairs 12 rows deep. Off to the right are bookcases, shelving units, small tables, entertainment stands, televisions, lamps, and framed artwork. Mattresses and box springs line the back wall and side walls in piles at least eight feet tall. The furniture, ranging from design floor chic to dorm room comfy, has been donated from households all over the city. Ikea donates items, including beds, once a week. Electrolux provides window air conditioning units, the most-requested item during Charlotte’s humid summers. 

Jones, a tall man with stick-straight posture, strides through the narrow passageways between the furniture, keeping an attentive gaze on his coworkers at the loading dock. He started out as a truck driver for the Crisis Assistance Ministry Furniture Bank five years ago, picking up donated items to bring to the warehouse and delivering them to the people who choose them during “shopping trips.”

Since then, Jones has received several promotions, and he now oversees daily operations at the furniture bank and the Free Store. Only four full-time staff members work in this division of the Crisis Assistance Ministry, so he relies heavily on volunteers to help organize and sort furniture. The group serves an average of 40 households each week. Jones helps coordinate when the trucks go out, deals with caseworkers, processes donations and ensures items are in good condition, and serves customers. Last year, his coworkers named him employee of the year.