“When you are with CEF, you are a part of the thread that makes us all one community.” Chinita is a CEF graduate, and her poetic statement during a CEF celebration perfectly describes the palpable connectivity in this community.
Whether we’re weaving together programs and resources to form a holistic network of support, or connecting our Members and Advocates together in people-centered relationships, CEF is steadily crafting a beautiful, interconnected, and interwoven community.”
Dear CEF Family,
As Hurricane Florence is predicted to impact our area in the coming days, we are actively compiling resources below to help you access safety and resources. Please make comments if you have additions or edits to share! You can access/share this resource via tinyurl.com/hurricane18cef or on CEF’s homepage communityef.org
Click Here to Access the Guide
I dedicate this song to depression *yesss* recession *yesss* and unemployment. This song is for you.
Rooms go silent when they hear those first few words from Ms. Yvette, the director of the Advocacy Choir and a part of the Orange County’s staff team. What follows is the CEF Advocacy Choir’s signature cover of Smile. At this point, two years after the choir began, anyone who frequents CEF events knows the words by heart.
In an effort to pass a $5 million housing bond in November 2016, Maggie West, former Co-Director of CEF, and Yvette Matthews, Chapel Hill Advocate Program Associate, were searching for new ways to engage in advocacy in the Chapel Hill community.
“We had just moved into our new office,” says Maggie, “and as a part of our housewarming party, we organized a sing-along, and it was beautiful. So that spurred our thinking about how people like to sing together.”
Ms. Yvette says, “we sat round kind of brainstorming on what we could do and because I have directed choirs all my life and sang all my life, we came up with the idea of having a CEF Advocacy Choir.” They knew they could use that musical potential as an approach to cultural organizing, which Maggie defines as, “using culture as a tool for advocacy and organizing, because those tools are the things that change hearts and minds.”
So the first opportunity to try it was when we were trying to encourage voters to vote yes for the bond referendum on their ballots that election period. It just wasn’t super well-known.” The original group of CEF staff, Advocates, and Members that started the Advocacy Choir began covering ground on a daily basis to spread the word about the bond. They went to every church and community event in Chapel Hill that would let them sing, sometimes going to as many as three a day. In November 2016, the bond was passed.
Since then, the Advocacy Choir has endured. “We’ve still got a good eight people as the core group,” says Ms. Yvette, “so we continue to do it. Anytime we’re invited we go. If everybody can’t go I’ll go by myself, you know, and just represent.” In just the past several months, the choir has performed at the Loreleis Spring Concert in Memorial Hall, the CEF Art Show, the Northside Festival, the Maggie-We-Love-You-Party, and a few other smaller events. They perform in a variety of environments, from town council meetings to festivals, giving people a voice, uplifting crowds, spurring joyful dances all at once.
While one component of the choir is to encourage celebration and cohesion in the community, the choir, as seen in the housing bond campaign, is also a strong force for political activism and social justice. Ms. Yvette points out one aspect of the choir that makes it especially effective. “The CEF Advocacy Choir has the element of surprise because people don’t think that we can sing,” says Ms. Yvette, “but we get up there and we blow them away, it’s always good to have the element of surprise.”
It makes sense that people are surprised by the choir—it’s not your typical sort of activism. “In campaigns since [the housing bond] we’ve been super effective singing at town council meetings where in that context, it’s both invitational and disruptive in a powerful way,” says Maggie. “It sort of makes you take a step back. I think it just changes the space entirely and I think what I’ve noticed in that context is it’s also like a rallying moment for the Members and Advocates. It’s like, ‘All right, we’re owning this conversation.’ And seeing the effect it has on people’s pride is really powerful.”
David, a CEF Member and one of the original members of the choir, says that in the choir, “We love to sing because we are family. We’re just strong together because, you know, if anybody’s got any difference in the choir, it disappears when it’s time to sing, because everybody’s ready to go for it.”
As a co-founder, Maggie has seen CEF evolve from the organization’s very beginning. To her, the choir represents a resurgence of some of the values and culture it was founded upon. “CEF came out of another organization that was based really in storytelling and art,” Maggie explains, “what I’ve seen over the last couple of years is a resurgence of that in our community and in our space. The choir being part of it, as well as quilting, Talking Sidewalks, the art show—things that are about lifting up people’s own voices and creativity. That was our roots really, it was where we came from, and seeing it come back to that is really powerful. This is not just as a service organization, this is a place you belong. This is a vibrant place where we want you to bring all of your gifts.”
David says being a part of the choir and the CEF community is “an experience like, you know, somebody can bake a beautiful cake, and maybe you can taste the cinnamon in it, but the person over there might taste something else. But still, that’s a good darn cake.”
Ms. Yvette is already writing songs and strategizing to have the greatest impact in the upcoming election season. Needless to say, there are many opportunities for new people to get involved, so reach out if you would like to join the choir!
Call Yvette at 919-200-0233 or reach out via email at yvettem@communityef.org
to get involved and be notified about upcoming rehearsals and performances!
Celebrate Community and Financial Independence
You are invited to CEF’s annual Financial Independence Day, Saturday, July 7th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at Umstead Park in Chapel Hill! It’s a community cookout with fun activities to acknowledge and celebrate the fight for freedom from financial burden. We’d love for you to come and be a part of the:
RSVP here: https://goo.gl/forms/oyBKbBNBXSJbXizI2
What inspires me to work for CEF is when I complete a task with someone. It does not matter whether it is a large or small task that helps the person. When that person says to me, that I made a difference for them—their direct feedback and their energized eye-to-eye contact beaming back at me are what inspire me. There is a wide array of diverse people, from all walks of Chapel Hill who visit our office. Just because I am able to help write or re-construct a person’s resume in a new and refreshing way—I see that person before my eyes become energized and ready to seek employment.
I’m working to modify present systems already in place at CEF to support members looking for employment. My goal is to help people to easily access and navigate employment opportunities in Chapel Hill. Sometimes, there are not that many options out there for a lot of our Members. We are trying to make employment opportunities more connected, and build more relationship with businesses that see the value in employing CEF Members!
I think connecting with people is important because you need people in order to make things work. CEF—as I’ve learned—has a pretty cool model in terms of how we help and support people who are struggling with different issues. It’s like being able to take your individual support and be a part of a collective—in a larger community context. The difference is that as a collective, CEF can reach into so many different directions; homelessness, families looking for services, hunger, employment and all kinds of things. It’s a “one-stop-shop” in many ways—one organization that can help many types of people.
I have a two-year training certificate in fund development from the University of San Francisco, a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from JFK University (New College of California), and a Master’s in Social Work from North Carolina Central University. I presently work at Central as a Clinical Adjunct/Field Faculty Liaison in the social work department.
The greatest challenge working here is not being able to help the people with issues that are so much larger than I could ever figure out. There’s a lot CEF does to help people, but then there are people whose issues are large and difficult to get handled in a short period of time.
Last weekend the Community Empowerment Fund hosted an art showcase that highlighted a variety of artistic talents from the CEF family! From unique sculptures to detailed watercolor paintings; songs from the CEF Advocacy choir to mesmerizing spoken word, there was something for everyone.
We started with a tour of MFA works at the Ackland Art Museum, led by Art&Life, with discussions “intended to explore the status quo and question why things are the way they are” before heading to the Campus Y for a truly special exhibition. Artists were able to showcase the creative extensions of themselves and to enrich the lives of those of us able to witness it.
It was a wonderful community-building event, and an extremely important chance to share a space and celebrate achievements. We can’t recreate the moments we shared on Saturday but we hope that these pictures shared on this post give you at least a little glimpse of the talent of our artists.
Thank you to everyone that came and to all the artists that shared their amazing work and talents.
The CEF Advocacy Choir had the amazing experience of performing at Memorial Hall to close out the first half of a show by the UNC Loreleis this past weekend! Yvette Mathews is a part of CEF’s Staff team in Orange County, and the director of the Advocacy Choir. She has re-written the lyrics to many popular tunes to sing about issues faced by CEF Members – especially about affordable housing.
If you missed this performance, come check out he CEF Advocacy Choir at the CEF Art Show on April 21st or the Chapel Hill Spring Graduation Party on April 28th!
Call Yvette at 919-200-0233 or reach out via email at yvettem@communityef.org to get involved and be notified about upcoming rehearsals and performances!
“Six months ago, I was a person that lived in the trees. When [Hurricane] Matthew was running, and you were home safe, I was in the trees. Thinking about if they fell on me, would anyone find me? I was in the trees. I was in the trees because I could no longer afford housing in this city that I had lived for 6 years. I had an income. I was homeless, but not hopeless. I only wanted to trade trees for keys.”
Now, from her new, affordable apartment, Chinita is still surrounded by the trees, but she has keys. She remarks in bursts of joy to see the chipmunks scurry past her window, to see nature as her neighbor, but not her shelter.
Chinita grew up in Greensboro, and received degrees in Journalism and Education from NC A&T University. She built a career based on service and a love of people, working as a teacher and as a Hospice caregiver, and even for several years as a publicist and media sales.
In 2010 Chinita relocated to Chapel Hill to be closer to her doctors, and shares, “I had been living in the same place since I came to Chapel Hill — for six years. It wasn’t the best place, but it was home, it was comfortable, it was safe.” Each year, Chinita says, “I would go through the annual time to renew your lease and it’s nothing abnormal, normally it’s anywhere from $20 – $25 more but nothing shocking. Last year was shocking.”
Last year, her rent went up from $680 per month to $2,110 at her lease renewal. More than triple. This was more than she could possibly afford, and forced her to seek new housing with short notice. She moved into her housing of last resort: her Jeep.
“In this city, I found trees that would cover me, that would protect me, so that I could be close to my doctor.” The social worker at her doctor’s office actually first referred her to CEF.
Chinita describes using a fan plugged into her car lighter as her source of cooling down in 100 degree summer weather. She describes meeting the “golden warriors” of the Meals on Wheels team that delivered her daily meal to her in a parking lot. And she describes coming to CEF each week during the two months of her homelessness to find the resources to move back into a safe home.
About her work with CEF Advocates, Chinita shares “Every element that I’ve needed them to assist me – glasses, legal services, housing, food…I think they look at the whole person, and their whole needs, and if they don’t have an answer, they have a wealth of resources.”
“When you go to other services you feel like you’re given a band-aid. But the difference is with CEF it’s more of a healing process.”
For Chinita, this meant staying connected to CEF while finding an apartment she could afford, and eventually signing a lease with a senior housing community where she can sustain her housing for the long-term.
“I appreciate you being here at my lowest point, but I’m more appreciative of helping me find the resources that I can hold my head up again, and hope again. I don’t think there’s anything more grateful than feeling like you’ve got someone’s hand that’s holding you through the storm, and that’s what CEF has been for me… They have been the anchor in my life.”
To listen to Chinita speak is to listen to the voice of a poet, whose first love and first refuge was found in words – the world of words a place of connection and relief ever since she was a young girl. To listen to Chinita speak is to hear the “caged bird” sing, to quote a sentiment she references often, as you hear in her lyricism and in her powerful voice the influences of Dr. Maya Angelou (or “Mother Maya,” as Chinita lovingly calls her).
And Chinita is sharing the gifts of her inspirational speaking and her love of stories with the CEF community. Chinita now volunteers to lead CEF’s new member orientation sessions every week, to help others gain the financial stability she has found and to be the first person to welcome people into the community she loves. She shares, that for her, “The faith is restored, the hope is restored, the homes are obtained, the jobs are obtained, the glasses are obtained. I feel better about me. About life. I feel so great about it that I want to tell everybody about it. And I enjoy being orientation coordinator working with our new members in orientation, because they get to see Chinita over and over again. And I get to see individuals who come and they look like there’s no hope, but I get to tell them that there is.”
Chinita encourages you to join her in supporting and being a part of CEF. “When you can be with an organization that pulls out dreams that you’ve never even considered, that’s priceless.”
“It’s tax deductible, but it’s priceless too. I think that all of our givers should know that giving to CEF is not just putting band-aids… I want to say my spine and my neck is up higher, and I feel more confident and my faith is restored, and not only can I make it, but I can be a hand for someone else.”
This holiday CEF is sharing stories about how, as CEF Member David says, “CEF sticks with the person.” Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see more stories of how #CEFstickstogether
“It’s a process, not an event,” says Cameron. After staying outdoors, in abandoned buildings, and shelters over the last 2 years, he’s just moved into a home of his own in Chapel Hill. “I walked in, dropped all my stuff on the ground, that was the beginning.” Cameron was first connected to CEF in 2013 when our Chapel Hill office was still on Franklin Street! “I heard about it and started talking to people in the [Opportunity] Classes!” He met consistently with Advocates, seeking out employment and education opportunities that might expand his natural aptitude and skills for working with all things automotive—all the while, trying to procure and protect a safe place to sleep every night.
He was never really sure that he would have a place of his own. “I thought it would take basically an act of congress.” An abandoned house that he organized as a temporary shelter for himself and his rescue dog Gizmo was often at risk. “I was actually not sure, because where I was—we were being threatened to have the house boarded up and I was getting a sinking feeling from having to deal with that again—always ill-at-ease.” It was an environment that often left Cameron feeling severely underslept and challenged to navigate tasks of daily survival alongside his ongoing pursuit of education, greater income, and housing. “Having to share with several other guys where I was, I didn’t like it a lot. I didn’t feel like I had much of my privacy.”
Cameron was able to secure his place through a program called Permanent Supportive Housing Voucher (PSH) managed by the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service (IFC) in Orange County. The program connects individuals that have experienced significant time periods of homelessness to affordable housing and supportive services. CEF identified Cameron as potentially eligible for the program and helped him to navigate each step of the process! Cameron describes CEF as a “force-multiplier.” “If it hadn’t been for CEF I probably wouldn’t have known [about the voucher].”
Cameron worked with CEF Advocates and Debra Vestal, IFC’s PSH Case Manager, to successfully find and move into housing. Permanent Supportive Housing is a key part of the Housing First approach that understands that “people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before attending to anything less critical, such as getting a job, budgeting properly, or attending to substance use issues.” CEF has worked with the Orange County’s Partnership to End Homelessness to increase collaboration, assessment, and prioritization for the limited supply of PSH vouchers for people like Cameron in the past few years, yet resources are scarce. The HOME Task Force helps to coordinate services and housing for these vouchers but HOME currently has a list of 60 other families that are waiting and working towards the opportunity to have a foundation to move beyond what Cameron calls “survival mode.”
It’s “surreal, very surreal,” he says. “I don’t really show it on the outside but I’ve heard myself say I’m happy—I’m glad. I know I feel a lot more relieved.” Having a safe and comfortable place to sleep each night is essential. For Cameron, it’s a new beginning and the foundation of things to come. “It felt so much better, I felt like I woke up more refreshed, less stressed. Things just kind of took a 180… When I go to the fridge. I think, ‘Hey I was out in the woods not too long ago!’ I don’t even have to think about that anymore. I can cook my own food, which I like to do. I can have hot-served-food and shelter.”
Sharing in community is a part of how Cameron moves through the world, tapping into his different strengths and abilities. At CEF’s Financial Independence Day this summer, Cameron was honored for his participation and leadership at Opportunity Class and was inducted as a CEF Alumni Ambassador. He has been to over 100 classes, and now often acts as a co-facilitator for class discussions alongside lead facilitator, Mike Wood. He comes each week, helps to set up the room, and is always eager to share and support anyone who comes. “One of my things, is try to be encouraging—to point out the things that they are already doing… ‘Don’t let it discourage you.’”
Cameron is also an artist; his backpack is often filled with a mix of mechanical sketches and abstract designs. The creations were featured in the CEF Art Show last April. “I found it very enriching, I was grateful for the opportunity to show it. Whoever came by seemed to like the flow of it, a lot of people there were able to get a positive result.” His process often combines elements of found-art and collage with vibrant patterns and design.
Cameron is also a regular and co-facilitator at Talking Sidewalks, a weekly gathering of CEF Members and Advocates who come to share life stories, teachings and thoughts in a communal and supportive space. “Here everyone’s giving a voice or an opinion—how we feel—people like that; a soundboard… we come to a place where we can put out our feelings and thoughts and sit and talk and voice.”
Cameron can most always be seen with his sidekick dog Gizmo, one of CEF’s unofficial canine mascots. Gizmo seems to also be enjoying the benefits of the new home that they now share: “I think he’s as happy as I am. I think wherever I am he’s happy to be.” Even more, Cameron doesn’t have to worry anymore about leaving Gizmo at a campsite as he pursues his next step, heading back to school.
“I’ve been working on trying to go to school, and I think having a place will definitely be better, have more advantages. I’ll be more at ease.” This summer he secured grant funding and enrolled in an automotive program at Durham Tech. Previously, Cameron started an automotive training program while still living in the woods, trying to advance his career and make a way for himself. This time around is really different with a secure place to live. Cameron is doing great in his classes, and is able to focus, concentrate and study.
Cameron’s home is the foundation for greater education and the chance to pursue lifelong dreams of working as an automotive mechanic. It’s also a place where he can just enjoy the small things, like making a good meal for himself and his friends. “[We] bought some peppers, some salmon, a red onion, some oil, some romaine lettuce… They took the romaine lettuce and they cut it in half, and I knew how to cut peppers. I basically made this semi-elaborate meal. A really decent meal that I made with sea-salt! I’m trying to do more healthy eating now—sea-salt, brown rice not white rice… It just makes me appreciate now, having come to a better place now.”
This holiday CEF is sharing stories about how, as CEF Member David says, “CEF sticks with the person.” Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see more stories of how #CEFstickstogether
