Around Town

What you need to hear about homelessness

By Jenn Baxter
5-year-old Isaac Fortich looks over the baseball theme comforter in his bedroom at Piedmont Pointe Apartments in Mooresville on April 16,2014. Brenda Hawkins was saddened to learn recently that some families in her town are so poor that they can’t afford beds for their children. The kids sleep four to a bed in some cases or on old mattresses on the floor or in the same bed as their parent/s. Hawkins, president of the 15-member Mooresville Rotary Club, coaxed her club into donating $2,500 for new beds for kids, which was matched by a private local foundation. The volunteers have delivered seven or eight beds to families since Jan. 1.
5-year-old Isaac Fortich looks over the baseball theme comforter in his bedroom at Piedmont Pointe Apartments in Mooresville on April 16,2014. Brenda Hawkins was saddened to learn recently that some families in her town are so poor that they can’t afford beds for their children. The kids sleep four to a bed in some cases or on old mattresses on the floor or in the same bed as their parent/s. Hawkins, president of the 15-member Mooresville Rotary Club, coaxed her club into donating $2,500 for new beds for kids, which was matched by a private local foundation. The volunteers have delivered seven or eight beds to families since Jan. 1. Robert Lahser rlahser@charlotteobserver.com

The way to tackle the issue of homelessness is not to create more nonprofits or raise more money, according to Daniel Fogarty, executive director of Beds for Kids.

“We need more people to engage,” he said. “…The equation to solve it is one, plus one, plus one, plus one. It’s going to take everyone’s skill sets.”

He and community developer Reggie Nious are setting up the basis for that engagement during #CLTtalks tonight at Fahrenheit. “We get to have a dialogue on how we do this together,” he said.

The conversation begins at 5:30 p.m. and about 90 people had RSVP’d as of Thursday, according to Fogarty.
But Fogarty has been engaged in this conversation of homelessness since 2011.


That year, he, Tim Rowley and Brandon Holmes founded Beds for Kids, a Charlotte-based nonprofit with a mission to provide a bed and other essential furniture to every Charlotte child and family in need, whether they were homeless or transitioning out of homelessness.

The numbers you need to know:

– 3,440

Since January 2011, Beds for Kids has directly impacted the lives of 3,440 individuals, delivering 2,792 beds and 19,664 total bed and furniture units that are new or gently used to homes and family shelters.

– 7,500

“There are over 7,500 children that we know of in Charlotte that need beds to sleep on and together we can change that,” Fogarty said.

The beds have many positive effects on the kids the nonprofit reaches. A child’s sleep habits are improved by beds. A child’s ability to listen and learn increases with proper sleep and a child’s behavioral and cognitive development improves.

– 256

That is the number of kids that Beds For Kids served during its first year, Fogarty said. In the first quarter of 2015 alone, they have served more than 300 kids.

– 2519

This street number is your guide for donating. Donations can be made by dropping off items at the Beds for Kids warehouse located at 2519 S. Tryon St. or by arranging a pick-up by calling 980-422-1192.

Beds for Kids items including mattresses, box springs and bed frames, they also accept dressers, end tables, desks, bookshelves, sofas, chairs, lamps, bedding and Bibles.

“Bed kits” are needed as well, with twin-size bed kits slated as top priority.

Whether involvement benefits a family at a homeless shelter or one that has just transitioned out of homelessness, Fogarty said, “It’s not an us and them conversation … If we’re going to be a community, we’ve got to be neighbors and we’ve got to be good neighbors.”

Photos by Robert Lahser / Charlotte Observer.

Reporting contributed by Katie Toussaint.

Jenn Baxter is a freelance writer who contributes to several publications including The Charlotte Observer, Fort Mill Times, Lake Norman Magazine and SOCIETY Charlotte. Follow her on Twitter @_JennBaxter.



This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 9:00 PM.

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