For the first Member Spotlight, we’re featuring Jeffrey Rawlings, S3 Housing Connect’s chair! Jeffrey has been with S3 from the very beginning, and has done an amazing job guiding the group. As chair, he leads all S3 meetings, is a member of numerous committees, and is always a great person to go to for advice or knowledge. Keep reading to find out more about our fearless leader!
Q: Where do you work? How is it involved with homelessness?
A: “I work for Johnston Lee Harnett Community Action, and I’m their Rapid Rehousing Case Manager. For Rapid Rehousing, the goal is to house a person or family within thirty days or as rapidly as possible.”
Q: What’s a fun fact about yourself?
A: “I play piano and sing in four languages. I’ve been playing and singing all my life- I don’t even remember ever starting. I play for my church.”
Q: Why’d you get involved with S3?
A: “I have a passion for helping because someone helped me. I was once homeless and someone believed I could be better.”
Q: 5 years from now, where do you see S3? What do you picture will be happening with it then?
A: “It will be a well-oiled machine and we will have met our goal of making homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring. Displaced persons will enter the network and have their needs and barriers to those needs identified. Immediately, work will commmnce to return them to housing and equip them with the tools to sustain that housing.”
Q: What’s your favorite aspect of working with S3?
A: “The cooperation of the people involved; the passion of the people involved and most importantly seeing the lives we have helped to change.”
So many positive things have happened to S3 this year, but Jeffrey knows we’re just getting started- “I’m just excited about where we’re going- I’m excited about the first year, and very excited about what will be happening this year. It is going to be a very, very busy and very productive year for Lee County and Sanford!”
