(From left) Homemakers of Mercy Maureen Reagle, Lisa Hedrick and Prudy Kornegay take a break from furnishing an apartment for a soon-to-arrive refugee family resettling in Charlotte in February. The organization of 70 volunteers works with Catholic Charities’ Refugee Resettlement program to bring the comforts of home to families who are fleeing violence and being resettled here by the U.S. government to build new lives. (Liz Chandler | Catholic News Herald)CHARLOTTE — The Homemakers of Mercy are working overtime to furnish apartments and houses for a growing number of refugee families fleeing war, violence and poverty to start new lives in the Charlotte area.
Partnering with Catholic Charities, Homemakers of Mercy is an independent group of 70 volunteers who collect donations of furniture, household goods and other items to help refugees feel at home after grueling journeys that often involve trauma, refugee camps and separation from family.
“We want to make them feel safe,” says Prudy Kornegay, who has volunteered from the beginning 15 years ago. “We have no idea how it feels to not speak the language and to come into a place where you just don’t know anybody…We try to make it homey and comfy, and we always have a candy dish full of candy.”
Homemakers of Mercy began as a ministry of the Sisters of Mercy and the parishes of St. Matthew and St. Gabriel and was originally staffed by stay-at-home moms and retirees who wanted to give back, and has grown to welcome men and women and volunteers from other faiths.
They work with Catholic Charities’ Resettlement Services program, which partners with the U.S. government to legally resettle refugees. The agency lets the Homemakers of Mercy know a few days before refugees arrive, and volunteers get to work – gathering furnishings, setting up transport, and showing up to transform a vacant house or apartment into a home.
On a rainy morning in January, it took volunteers just two hours to make an empty apartment move-in ready. A Catholic Charities truck backed as close as it could to the Mint Hill apartment building, and one-by-one volunteers in raincoats carried chairs, a sofa and boxes up a flight of stairs into the apartment – then placed everything just so.
For Mohammed Soda, this act of kindness was immeasurable when he and his family arrived to a warm, carpeted two-bedroom apartment with updated kitchen in Charlotte last September, after fleeing war in Syria and a decade of transition in Jordan.
“It’s hard to move from an Arabic country to live another kind of life. It is good to live here, but it’s hard to start life here. But it will be good. We hope it will be good,” says Soda, an accounting professor who is searching for a job, studying English, and consistently doting on his 4-year-old daughter.
Homemakers of Mercy has furnished about 1,000 apartments since it began, says Mary Ann Thomas, one of the founders.
Recently, they have responded to more requests than usual, as the number of arrivals has steadily grown since the pandemic dramatically curtailed resettlement, says Laura Townsend Jones, Catholic Charities’ resettlement director.
Catholic Charities welcomed 63 refugees in January and 59 in February, up from an average of about 25 a month last year – all of them in need of living quarters.
Overall, the agency expects a total of 375 refugees this year, up from 290 last year and 78 the year before.
“The amazing thing about Homemakers of Mercy is how they react to needs that come unexpectedly,” says Jones. “Our average is usually between five and seven apartments a month, but in January, for instance, the Homemakers set up 15…We call them and tell them about the need and they jump on it.”
Arrivals range from individuals to large families, Jones says. The Homemakers most recently furnished a home for a family of 11 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, scrounging up bunkbeds for the nine children.
Homemakers track the inventory of donations, stored at a Catholic Charities warehouse. They also collaborate with other organizations to secure items, including Beds For Kids and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mary Ann Thomas says it’s a ministry of love. Volunteers pay attention to the smallest of details to provide the comforts of home.
“You’ll see them there washing dishes and hanging shower curtains – they give so much of themselves,” she says. “By the time they’re done the apartments look absolutely lovely. They really focus on making them into a place that will feel like home.”
— Christina Lee Knauss. Liz Chandler contributed.
Consider donating
Catholic Charities and Homemakers of Mercy need furniture and household furnishings. You can arrange to donate by calling (704) 370-3262 and contribute financially by making checks payable to: Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 St. Church St., Charlotte, N.C. 28203, “Attn: Refugee Services.” Please note in the memo field: “Refugee furnishings.”