Motels are the modern face of homelessness
Motel rooms do not have a full working kitchen but instead a hot plate or
a crock pot. Many of these families are living in a single motel room with
only two beds. If a family is large, that means children are sleeping on
floor palettes and supplies are at a minimum.
Families we serve
Our volunteers bring healthy, fresh food to families in
motels or recently transitioning into an apartment or house.
Motel Connect, is a volunteer-based program of REACH that addresses food insecurities for this targeted population, living in motels and hotels in the Raleigh-Wake County area. Weekly, this program provides much needed nutrition and subsidizes grocery budgets for these families.
“59% of Americans are ONE
paycheck away from homelessness.”
When a family loses the income that they need for an apartment,
a motel can seem like a good stopgap measure. Rather than scrambling
to find a security deposit and $1,200 for monthly rent, they only need
to provide a fraction of that amount at a time. Week by week. But it still
adds up to more than some house mortgages.
Partner with us!
You can make a difference in the lives of those living in transitional
housing and struggling with access to healthy and affordable food.
Organizations, churches, or individuals who want to partner with us
can organize their own drives and fundraisers to help local families
during this transitional period of homelessness. Motel Connect will
gladly pick up your group donations.
We never know how many food insecure families that we will have on our schedule each week, but we are dedicated to serving them all. You can make a difference in the lives of those living in transitional housing, especially the children, by partnering with Motel Connect.
HELP US HELP FAMILIES
Each week a group of dedicated volunteers pick up boxes from the
Food Bank of NC. They are full of perishable and non-perishable foods
to deliver to every family that has made a request or was referred by a
Case Manager. Our main goal is to alleviate food insecurities, enhance
nutrition and promote resilience.
By providing food subsidies families are able to save more for apartment
deposits, fees or other emergencies.
- Packing hygiene and laundry care kits including deodorants,
feminine products, bar soaps, laundry soap* stain removers.
When a group collaborates to pack care kits, this alleviates
financial stress for our families. More importantly it enables
adults and children to wear clean clothes and feel and look
their best, boosting confidence for the whole family. During
Covid-19, hand sanitizer and masks are also needed. *Laundry
soap sheets such as Earth Breeze brand, are now a better
alternative to large plastic bottles.
- Donate an electric skillet or crockpot: Help reduce dependency
on fast food and encourage healthier choices. These appliances
allow adults a way to cook more nutritious meals and provide
for their loved ones.
- Grocery store gift cards give Motel Connect families the freedom
to grocery shop and supplement our food boxes. $50-$100 will
provide nutritious food and urgent supplies to a small family living
in transitional housing for one week.
- Recently one group filled tote bags with art supplies for each child
in the Motel Connect Program. This encouraged creativity and
expression for the children, plus it put big smiles on their faces.
Additionally, it aided students with supplies for at home learning
during the pandemic. Art supplies and crafts were also provided
for the parents, which allowed valuable hands on interaction with
their children.
