Fayetteville Urban Ministry helps many and could use a hand

Seventeen-thousand.

That is the number of people who have been assisted by Fayetteville Urban Ministry in just one year, according to Johnny Wilson, executive director.

The nonprofit Urban Ministry is under the umbrella of the United Way of Cumberland County and has for more than 40 years helped families with food, employment, rent, clothes and just about anything they need — all at no cost to them.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw the number of people the Urban Ministry helps spike from around 10,000 a year, to 56,000 in about three years, Wilson said. The staff operates out of a building at Whitfield Street and Camden Road, and they receive and welcome a steady supply of people who visit their food pantry or clothes shop, or who access other services.

Wilson is asked if he ever just gets tired, and he laughs and said he appreciates the question.

“No, not even close,” said Wilson, who sat down for an interview on Monday and was joined by Patricia Jackson, the operations manager, and Mikayla Borrero, community outreach coordinator.

Wilson explained: “I deal with a staff, they are excited to serve and do their job every day.

He added: “Nobody complains about their job.” He sounds incredulous.

Wilson said when they tried to go remote the first couple of months of COVID-19, his team members were itching to get back in the building.

“These rascals, were like, ‘We need to be there. Johnny we need to be there, please,’” he said with a laugh. “I had to tell the Board of Directors, look the staff wants to be here Monday through Friday.” 

Jackson adds: “I think what we do is just never lost on us.”

She recounts the story of seeing a mother in Emergency Assistance with a baby on her hip, a child standing next to her and everything the family owned in a trash bag.

“The little one looked past and saw all the books in the clothing closet and goes, ‘Books, mommy, books!’” Jackson said. She said the mom responded, “We don’t have anywhere to put books right now, honey, but when we get a house then you can have a book.”

Jackson said: “That’s what makes you come to work every day.” 

But there are challenges.

Wilson said what worries him the most at present is what he is seeing in the food pantry: Shelves getting low on food. 

“You go down there and you look at our shelves in Emergency Assistance, a lot of the shelves are bare,” he said. “It is scary.”

The Urban Ministry receives strong support from businesses, churches and individual donors — over the summer, for example, more than two dozen Spectrum employees participated in one of the ministry's Service Saturdays and handed over a check for $50,000.

But still, there are those 17,000 people who came through the doors. Not to mention the larger economic forces that have buffeted the economy.

“You can tell that everyone has been impacted when you talk about inflation and you talk about the gas prices,” Wilson said. “It fires off a whole chain reaction.” 

Donations dipped over the summer compared to previous summers at Urban Ministry. Now, the holidays are approaching and bringing with them great need.

Wilson and his team identified the greatest needs now:

Food pantry. They are talking about nonperishable foods. “We’re talking about everything down to canned stews, tuna, peanut butter and jelly, rice boxes — you name it,” he said. “Anything we can fit on the shelf.” 

The pantry is not the only way Urban Ministry provides food assistance. Among other ways: A Thanksgiving Food Box that families can sign up for when they come into the building; registration continues through Nov. 10 with a scheduled pickup date of Nov. 22.

Hygiene kits. Jackson said the hygiene kits that ministry staff keep on hand are as low as she has seen, and some items people have asked for they were not able to give. Among items needed: Travel size shampoos and conditioners; combs; feminine products; mouth wash; soap; and shaving cream.

Urban Ministry is looking for a boost to come out of its Annual Holiday Honor Card Unveiling and Open House, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 11. Staff describe it is a dress-down event, where people can tour the facilities — both Fayetteville Urban Ministry, and its Find-A-Friend Youth Enrichment Center across the street.

Meanwhile, the Urban Ministry plays host each month to Service Saturdays, where people and organizations can come by and pitch in. The next one is scheduled for Nov. 5; people can sign up online. They have been a hit — especially with younger people, Wilson said.

‘Everybody is valuable’

The Rev. Laura Lupton said she was by Urban Ministry recently and saw for herself how the staff treats the people they serve with kindness and respect. She is the mission coordinator for the Presbytery of Coastal Carolina and headed the planning committee for the 2022 Crop Hunger Walk, which donated funds from this year's effort to Urban Ministry.

A woman had just arrived, needing help, Lupton said. She was treated “very graciously”  and “very respectfully,” Lupton said. “The culture here of this organization is everybody is valuable, and we all struggle. And we’re in this mess together.”

Jackson will tell you that’s what Urban Ministry is all about.

She shared the story of a single mom — a college graduate in the health care field — who was laid off and did not have child care during the pandemic. She was helped through the Emergency Assistance program. 

Urban Ministry helped pay utilities and bought Christmas presents for her young daughter.

“She was able to get some financial literacy assistance,”  Jackson said of the mother. “She learned how to save and more importantly how to spend and what not to spend.”

The mom got back on her feet and was able to save money.

“She is now self-sufficient, she is not where she needs to lean on a program like ours anymore. She was truly a success story, and has come back to volunteer.”

Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.