Bobbi Wethington, who chairs the benefit, said the program will feature music, drama, comedy and dance. The artists include the reigning Miss Moore County (Regina Gatti) and Mitch Capel, better known as Gran’daddy Junebug, the master storyteller and recording artist.
The show will be staged at Pinecrest High School’s Robert E. Lee Auditorium, beginning at 7 p.m. Feb. 16.
All proceeds will go directly to the Sandhills Interfaith Hospitality Network, a nonprofit agency supported by Moore County churches and established to help homeless families. The first benefit in 2000 raised $8,000 to supplement the funds and services provided by 12 host congregations and 11 supporting congregations. More than 800 volunteers assist SIHN.
“This benefit is still centered around homelessness and poverty,” Wethington said. “Our performers will be reflecting the hope, love and joy of reaching out to help people who are in need of homes.”
SIHN has accommodated 31 families since it opened in January 2000.
Susan Bellew, SIHN executive director, said those families were composed of 103 individuals, of whom 68 were children. The program serves families only; it is not set up to handle people with alcohol, drug or mental problems.
Bellew said the program can accommodate as many as 14 individuals at a time. On average, SIHN hosts two families, but on occasion it has provided help to as many as four families at the same time.
SIHN provides more than just shelter. Instead, homeless families are taken to one of the 12 host churches, where they are provided with beds and food on a weekly basis. At the end of one week, if the family remains homeless, the family is transferred to another host church, and this practice continues until arrangements are made for permanent housing.
Each morning the homeless family is moved from the host church to the SIHN Day Center in Aberdeen. Children are taken to school or day care or are cared for at the center, while Bellew and SIHN volunteers work with their parents to find housing and employment and to meet other needs.
“Many people are in transition. They look like you and me, but they have come down on a hard rock and need help getting up,” Bobbi Wethington said.
Bellew said many of the families are headed by single women who have either lost their jobs or hold low-paying jobs and were evicted for nonpayment of rent. Often they are people facing unexpected expenses, such as illness, that plunge them into debt, causing them to lose their home.
SIHN not only tries to find permanent housing, but also helps the homeless to find solutions to the problems that caused the loss of their homes. Among these services, in addition to finding jobs, is help in securing transportation to jobs. SIHN also administers the Wheels to Work program, a service whereby old cars are donated, repaired and sold at very low cost to people needing transportation in order to keep a job.
Bellew cited the example of a young mother of three children, who struggles to care for her family, keep a job and get an education. The woman’s mother was a drug addict, and she spent most of her growing-up years in foster care. Today this young mother is taking a full course load at Sandhills Community College and is also holding a job.
“We’re working very hard to find transportation for this woman,” Bellew said. “We have to find creative ways to help her, to get her into a low-rent apartment and to meet other needs. I’ve been impressed with her hard work and dedication.”
Bellew added that SIHN works with a broad assortment of local agencies to help homeless families. That includes everything from the college and the Housing Authority to the Employment Security Commission’s Job Center.
“Not all of us are dealt a fair deal in life,” Bellew said.
About two-thirds of the families helped by SIHN have found permanent housing. The others either found temporary housing or moved in with family members.
In addition to Wheels to Work, SIHN has implemented a family mentoring program whereby families are paired with church volunteers who help them solve some of the problems that led to homelessness.
It is against this background that the Feb. 16 entertainment is being developed.
Wethington said participating churches are forming a SIHN choir, which will perform during the program. Directing the choir is Nancy Arnold, piano teacher and musical director at Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen. Rehearsals are already under way.
Arnold is director of the Moore County Youth Chorale, also to be heard during the benefit. Music will likewise be presented by the Highland Children’s Choir.
Miss Moore County, Regina Gatti, is a student at East Carolina University and has arranged for the ECU Dance Troupe to make a special appearance for the benefit. Miss Moore County will also perform a dance.
Area high schools are sending their talent for drama presentations. The Pinecrest Players and the Pinecrest Ensemble, directed by Torin Wright, will perform, and the Union Pines drama group and ensemble, known as UP Stage, will make appearances.
Wethington said the program would feature a wide assortment of local artists, contributing their talents as individuals, schools, churches and private organizations.
“It’s something for everybody. We’ll have at least two children’s choirs,” Wethington said.
Wethington was too modest to mention that she is among the entertainers, but she admitted that the Sacred Dancers of Southern Pines United Methodist Church, whom she directs, will be among the performers. Wethington is a dance performer and teacher.
The Rev. Mark Wethington, SIHN president, will welcome the audience, but that’s about as far as formalities will go. From that point, the entertainment will begin.
Pinecrest High School Key Club members will serve as ushers, and other community volunteers are assisting. Bellew will be stationed in the auditorium lobby to answer questions from the public. A video illustrating the program will be shown in the lobby.
Tickets, at $10 for an adult and $5 for children under 13, may be purchased by calling Bellew at the SIHN Day Center on Sandhills Boulevard in Aberdeen (near First Baptist Church) or may be picked up at the door on the night of the program.
