Our weekly check-in meeting is open to anyone interested in supporting compassionate community response to our most vulnerable neighbors in this time of crisis. Meetings are held online every Thursday from 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Please email LeDayne Polaski for Zoom access code. In addition, if you would like to receive notification when these minutes are posted, please subscribe to our newsletter.
In This Issue:
Mecklenburg County Health Department: COVID Health Update
Eviction Update
Rental Relief
MeckMIN Updates
Facebook & Congregations
Grants - TD Charitable Foundation: Housing for Everyone Grant Competition | Harris and Frances Block Foundation
Nonprofit Updates: Project Scientist, HeartMath, Charlotte Master Chorale, International House,Augustine Literacy Project, VoteRiders, Loaves & Fishes
House of Faith Updates: Christian Responders, home2home, Park Rd. Baptist Church
Mecklenburg County Resources
Voting Resources
Click here to access 9/24/20 Zoom recording. Passcode: p0dw^V7*
Important Dates:
Sept 4- Dec 31: New eviction moratorium in place
Sept 30th Census (Please note that the end date for the Census is now uncertain. A federal judge has ordered that the end date be October 31, but the Trump administration is appealing.) Click here to access Census Questionairre and FAQ.
Oct 1, 11am: Next MeckMIN Community Leader meeting. Register Here
Oct 3: MeckMIN Youth Opportunity: Donuts & Discussion. Register Here
Oct 3, 7:30: Charlotte Master Chorale Presents: The Silent Voices: From the Margins featuring David Lang: the little match girl passion & Caroline Shaw: To the Hands
Oct 11: Crop Walk
Oct 15th, 12:30 pm: Sign up for MeckMIN's next Food For Thought: Important Life Conversations: Are You Having Them? Presenter: Lorrie Klemons, Klemons Health Care Consulting. Families should be proactively having Important life conversations throughout the birth-death continuum; especially critical to the safe, dignified and joyful aging of parents. Does your faith tradition impact your decisions? Register Here
1. Mecklenburg Health COVID Update
Mecklenburg County Health Department COVID Health Update: Mecklenburg County is continuing to see a decrease in the average of present positive residents who have been tested for COVID at 5.4%. We are also seeing a decrease in hospitalization numbers. With Flu season among us, the CDC and the Mecklenburg County Health Department are urging residents to get flu shots as soon as possible. It can take about two weeks after the vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection from the flu. We are also still encouraging residents to practice the 3 W’s: Wear a face covering, Wait 6 feet, and Wash hands frequently. Our Public Health COVID-19 hotline remans available at 980-314-9400.
2. Eviction Update
Legal Aid: Isaac Sturgill updated on the new CDC-issued eviction moratorium which began Sept 4th. It aims to stop evictions for non-payment of rent from Sept 4-Dec 31. Tenants must take active action to receive the protection of the order. This includes:
Read and sign an affidavit (also called a declaration) that ensures the order applies to them. This is signed under oath and is subject to perjury charges if false
Give a copy of the affidavit to their landlord
The landlord, once in receipt of the copy, is legally barred from evicting the tenant under penalty of stiff fines.
Important things to be aware of:
If you do not put this protection in place, actively, you can be evicted. But the protection of the affidavit can be invoked at any point in the eviction process from before it begins all the way up to the lock out order
If you invoke the affidavit after court proceedings have begun, the affidavit must go to the judge as well as the landlord. Legal Aid can help you do this as it can be difficult to do without legal representation.
Eviction protection does not eliminate the debt. You will still have to pay any money you owe once the eviction protections have been lifted (see below for information on rental relief)
Eviction prevention may or may not apply to hotel residents. Legal Aid is arguing that it does. If you are a long term hotel resident and need this help, Legal Aid can assist you In arguing your case.
For full details, see www.legalaidnc.org/cdcem
Please publicize this program and let renters know how to use it because it does not apply unless invoked.
3. Rental Relief
Legal Aid: NCORR is distributing about $148 million in rental relief. This money must be spent through the end of the year. Locally, The Housing Partnership is managing that money. See below for details on use and access
Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership:Erin Barbee, SVP The Housing Partnership, ebarbee@cmhp.org, 704-773-3199. The Housing Partnership is managing the ERAP program which began in response to COVID.
It is aimed at residents below 80% AMI which is <$60K/year for a family of 4.
ERAP has been expanded to include hotel tenants. It also pays for utilities. They have distributed $4 million so far but have another $16 million to distribute by the end of the year.
The city allows for a lump sum four month payment and the documentation has been streamlined so applicants can submit 4 documents rather than 12.
All documents can be submitted via phone or computer or you can call their number.
You can access the program through the RAMPCLT site.
DO NOT WAIT FOR THE EVICTION ORDER TO EXPIRE TO APPLY. The website is in English but application are in both English and Spanish. If you apply and your landlord or hotel refuses to accept the money, call Erin and she will work with them. The Housing Partnership is also providing counselors to help with understanding and putting eviction protection in place.
4. MeckMIN Updates
House of Faith Campaign: Time to renew your membership or please JOIN US as a new congregational partner. We need you! If you appreciate the work that MeckMIN is doing, please consider becoming a partner House of Faith and/or renew your membership. Complete the online membership form and submit today!
Youth Opportunity for Middle School/High School Students!
Donuts & Discussion on October 3rd ,10:00 AM – 11:30 AM 3900 Park Rd, Charlotte, NC. Come learn about other faith traditions, upcoming interfaith service projects, and ways to stay connected!
MeckMIN Community Leader Meeting Minutes Community Leader meeting minutes and resources can be located under our "News" section on our new website. Once uploaded, you should also be receiving an emailed notification from us. Please email LeDayne if you are not receiving minutes.
Current Needs:
Register your House of Faith as a MeckMIN partner so we can continue our work!
Promote the youth opportunities in your networks
Confirm that you are receiving minutes via email
Facebook is making a change to their terms of service that might impact your recorded or livestreamed event. Any house of faith, school, individual, or organization that uses music of any type for livestreams, should educate themselves about Facebook’s new terms of service (Effective October 1). Even if your congregation has a CCLI license, you may be impacted. Click here to view the changes.
6. Grants Available for Work in North Carolina
TD Charitable Foundation: Housing for Everyone Grant Competition: The TD Charitable Foundation is dedicated to sustaining the well-being of the communities served by TD Bank in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, DC. The Foundation's 2020 Housing for Everyone grant competition focuses on "direct relief and supportive services for renters affected by COVID-19." Support will be provided for programs that provide access to safe, clean, physically accessible and affordable rental housing units. Support also provided for wraparound services for families, individuals, the elderly, new Americans, veterans, the disabled, women, and youth. The application deadline is October 30, 2020.
Harris and Frances Block Foundation: The Harris and Frances Block Foundation supports grassroots nonprofit organizations that work to foster just and sustainable communities. The foundation provides grants to organizations in the states of Colorado, North Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. The foundation gives priority to the following areas of interest:
The focus of the Human Rights category is on issues pertaining to immigrants and refugees, reproductive rights, access to healthcare, and livable wage campaigns.
The focus of the Environmental Protection and Justice category is on grassroots organizing around climate change, environmental education opportunities for children, efforts to work with underserved communities being disproportionately affected by environmental issues, and the protection of the forest ecosystem.
The focus of the Food Access category is on nutrition and farm education for youth, primarily in Appalachia and Colorado.
Letters of Inquiry (LOI) may be submitted throughout the year; the online LOI form is available here.
7. Nonprofit Updates
For CLT Jessica Pierson, jessica@forcharlotte.org Staff from several churches have been let go and are now available for hire, Contact Jessica to connect to these excellent potential employees if your non-profit is looking to hire.
Project Scientist for Girls 4 -12 years
Brenda Vass, Chief Development Officer, promoted this 6-week STEM program. Usually held at Johnson and Wales, this experience is designed for girls 4-12 with an interest in science. The programs cost approximately $250 but donors provide 100% free scholarship for students who receive free or reduced lunch. These experiences are designed for online learning right now and siblings can enroll together. The program meets 90 minutes a week on Wednesdays at 3:30 and teachers are certified. New kits will be mailed out in October and November so students can do experiments together. Register through the website. The code for scholarship is stemclt100. See attached PDF.
Current Needs: Please promote this program to your networks
Emily Gaffney, emily.gaffney@hearttutoring.org
HeartMath has continued to tutor, virtually. They are looking for volunteers to donate 1 hour/week. HeartMath provides lesson plans, training and guidance.
They have also developed an online page for families of young students, birth to 5, to develop math skills which are correlated with both math and literacy success later.
Current Needs:
Promote volunteer opportunities at Heart Math
Sign up to volunteer as a tutor
Encourage families to access their family resources at https://hearttutoring.org/families/
October 3rd at 7:30pm the online premiere of "Margins", featuring Pulitzer-prize winning composers Caroline Shaw and David Lang. This is a unique collaboration between the Bechtler Museum, Bechtler Ensemble, Northwest School of the Arts, and the Chamber Singers of the Charlotte Master Chorale. The performance will stream on YouTube and marks a new focus of the Chorale to highlight pieces that support immigration and institutions of art and culture. A flyer is attached with more detail. Visit website here.
Current Needs: Please share the flyer broadly with your networks.
Alma Hernandez, Client Services Director,ahernandez@ihclt.org, 704-333-8099 x111. International House has modified its usual ESL support program. They are directing volunteers who are working with students K-3rd grade at Briarwood Elementary in a Rising Readers program. Weekly visits to kids provide them with food, educational materials, community resources and technical support. They need additional volunteers. You will drive to see each child but in one hour you can see 3-4 students. As a volunteer you will need availability in the morning, commitment of 6-8 hours/week, a CMS background check, your own transportation and must be 18 or over. The work continues through December. They hope to expand into 2021 and incorporate 4th and 5th graders. In addition, IH is delivering needed supplies to these families but has a shortage of bags. If you know of a good source for bags, please contact Alma.
Current Needs:
Volunteers needed for Rising Readers program
Bags needed for supplies for families
Learn more about becoming a tutor for this upcoming school year. Please register TODAY at www.alpcharlotte.org/register.
Current Needs: Tutors needed!
Pam Pearson, pam@voteriders.org, 704.641.4845. Reminder that VoteRiders is designed to help people get the ID's they need to vote and enter into other public spaces and action. Referrals from MeckMIN calls have resulted in events including one with Roof Above, an apartment complex for men in recovery. Pam Pearson worked with at least 10 men who needed ID's. All were grateful to have a partner to help them through this complex and costly process. Pam said this connection is a perfect example of what they hope to achieve. If there are other groups that are connected to similar populations, she would love to connect.
Current Needs: Contact VoteRiders if you have connections to a marginalized population that may need help with voter ID and registration.
Current Needs:
They need volunteers in both their warehouse and for home delivery
They have a limited quantity of cleaning supplies that they can deliver, if requested, during home delivery.
If anyone knows of a box vendor, they are in need of more boxes to distribute food
8. House of Faith Updates
Christian Responders, a ministry at St. Matthew Catholic Church and Matthews Methodist Ministry (home2home) have joined forces on efforts to collect furniture and supplies for Hurrican Sally survivors. They need used furniture, appliances, and kitchen & bath items for people who lost everything in recent storms. Many families are currently living in small FEMA trailers (travel trailers) and are trying to find affordable housing. When they do, they will be moving in with nothing, only what has been donated for them.
Current Needs: Furniture, appliances, and kitchen & bath items. To donate, email Joe George, jmecgeorge@aol.com or call 704-906-0784.
Park Rd. Baptist Church, Amy Jacks Dean, amy@parkroadbaptist.org
Amy Dean mentioned a project created by two children at Park Road Baptist – if you order soap from them, they donate soap and a face mask to a local nonprofit. The order form is attached. If your organization would like to be considered to receive donated soap and masks, please contact Amy.
9. Mecklenburg County Resources
10. Voting Resources
Become a Voting Rights Champion to get access to FREE RESOURCES AND SUPPORT to ensure that voters in your nonprofit’s community can successfully cast their ballots this fall. COVID-19 pandemic has forced many nonprofits to rethink their plans for in-person voter registration and voter education work this year. To help North Carolina nonprofits navigate the changing landscape of nonpartisan voter registration and voter education, You Can Vote launched its Voting Rights Champion program to provide accurate, easy-to-read, bilingual resources on voter registration and the election process in North Carolina.
Click here for VOTER FAQs! You Can Vote provides clear, accurate, and nonpartisan answers to a variety of common questions about the 2020 election process in North Carolina, including absentee voting by mail (it will be very popular this year), the process for requesting an absentee ballot (it’s best to start the process sooner rather than later!), photo ID (not required this year), and voter fraud (it’s extremely rare). The center encourages all nonprofits to read these FAQs and share them with their staff, boards, volunteers, and the people they serve.
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