The Relatives Family Update

Every January, volunteers and professionals brave the cold for one of the year’s most meaningful efforts: the Point-in-Time (PIT) Count.

This year, The Relatives’ team was led by Outreach Coordinator Freddie Roberts, alongside our Peer to Peer (P2P) team—young people who’ve experienced homelessness themselves and can connect and empathize instantly.

Each conversation during the PIT Count reminds us that behind every number is a person longing to be understood.

This year, the team met Scoot, just 19, recently pushed from his home—afraid, exhausted, and unsure what would come next. He shared his fear of sleeping with nowhere safe to go, and the hope he felt after talking to The Relatives.

Right there, Freddie scheduled an intake, linked him to resources, and connected him with Resource Center Staff, who moved quickly to help get him sheltered.

Scoot is one face among thousands who goes to sleep not knowing where he’ll wake up, whether he’ll be safe, or when homelessness will finally end for him.

Beyond the tally marks, the PIT Count is an act of compassion, a moment of connection, and the beginning of a pathway toward stability.

For Freddie and all of us at The Relatives, this work is rooted in love—love that calls us to show up, listen, and walk alongside our youth every day.

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Last Month at The Relatives:

• Spring Job Fair
  Our first job fair of 2026 was a success! With more than 40 attendees and 13 participating employers, the event focused on creating meaningful connections, exploring career pathways, and starting the year with strong momentum. Attendees had the opportunity to network directly with employers, ask questions, and gain insight into a different industries and roles.We’re grateful to the companies who partnered with us to make this event possible and for their commitment to supporting workforce development. Together, we’re helping empower young lives by opening doors to opportunity and creating pathways toward long-term success.

As we look ahead to next quarter’s job fair, we invite employers to join us in shaping what’s possible. By participating, you help open doors, spark confidence, and create pathways to meaningful careers for young people in our community. Together, we can continue building momentum and transforming young lives.

If interested in participating in our next job fair, please contact Essence Hodgdon

• Point-in-Time Count
  Charlotte-Mecklenburg County’s annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count took place overnight of January 21 and the following day, bringing together volunteers and community partners to help identify individuals and families experiencing homelessness across the county. This annual effort provides critical data that helps inform funding decisions, services, and long-term strategies to address housing insecurity.

The Relatives was proud to serve alongside community partners and volunteers during the PIT Count. Our Peer-to-Peer Outreach team worked directly with members of the unhoused community to ensure they were seen, heard, and counted, while our On Ramp Resource Center staff supported clients with a celebration featuring music, games, food, and raffle prizes to create a welcoming and dignified space for connection.

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QuikTrip (QT) is a strong partner of The Relatives. In 2023, they awarded a three year grant to launch our Peer to Peer Outreach Team (P2P) at the On Ramp Resource Center. Through this initiative, we hire and train youth with lived experience to work alongside Outreach Coordinator Freddie Roberts, Jr.

The P2P Team engages young adults experiencing or at risk of homelessness, connecting them with support and resources that lead toward stability. The program also provides workforce development, life coaching, and growth opportunities that prepare our peers for future employment and independence.

QuikTrip’s support has been essential in expanding our outreach to roughly 30,000 disconnected and homeless young adults in our community.

“QuikTrip is committed to making meaningful investments and working together with local partners to help address the root causes of homelessness, mitigate the effects of poverty, and make our communities safer, stronger, and more stable. We are pleased to support the critical work being done by The Relatives to support young people in crisis across the Charlotte area.”

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Celebrate Safe Place Week and #WalkAMileForRobert

From March 15th to the 21st, The Relatives joins communities nationwide in celebrating National Safe Place Week.

Each year, we honor Robert- an unhoused young man who walked from Freedom Park to The Relatives Youth Crisis Center, saw the Safe Place sign, and found the support he urgently needed.

This year, you have two ways to #WalkAMileForRobert:

• Walk with the Charlotte Knights
  Wednesday, March 18, 11:00 a.m. @ Truist Field

Join The Relatives and the Charlotte Knights for a one mile walk through Uptown.

RSVP to receive a free Safe Place t shirt courtesy of QuikTrip (while supplies last).

• Walk at On Ramp
  Friday, March 20, 1:00 p.m. @ On Ramp Resource Center

Walk alongside staff and young people at The Relatives to honor Robert and the thousands who have found safety through the Safe Place program.

RSVP to receive a free Safe Place t shirt courtesy of QuikTrip (while supplies last).

Can’t join in person?

Walk a mile anytime during Safe Place Week, post your photos on social media and tag @therelatives to show your support.

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Coming Soon at The Relatives:

 

• Meet The Relatives Tour: Tuesday, March 17th @ 10:00 a.m.
• Spring Clothing Drive @ On Ramp: Friday, April 17th, 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Volunteer to assist @ our Spring Clothing Driv
• Safe Place Walk @ Truist Field: Wednesday, March 18th @ 11:00 a.m.
• Safe Place Walk @ On Ramp: Friday, March 20th @ 1:00 p.m.