An Interview with Founding Director, Joan Cantor
Ten years ago, Joan Cantor founded the WIN Refuge, which soon became the Carteret County affiliate of Family Promise’s Interfaith Hospitality Initiative. In preparation for the interview, Joan Cantor brought a box full of memories from the first years of the program. As we went through them, we talked about the beginnings and the past 10 years of Family Promise of Carteret County.
In 2010, Cantor worked as the Mental Health coordinator in Carteret County. Interacting with many people, she discovered a trend of small needs adding up to major struggles for her clients. A woman with a baby out of wedlock found herself disowned and unable to care for her child, a teen avoiding her abusive parents found herself dependent on strangers, and an injured mother found herself asking her own son to give up his education to keep a roof over their heads. Cantor saw many people forced to choose between homelessness or helplessness. She decided to create the What I Need (WIN) Refuge, a support network forged through Carteret County churches for the homeless or soon to be homeless population of the county.
IT’S A GOD THING
Using a newspaper listing, Cantor sent invites to 110 local churches. More than half of those invited across the county sent representation to a luncheon at Glad Tidings Church in Morehead City. After Joan Cantor explained her goals, thirty-nine churches signed up that day to provide resources for the WIN Refuge, with more to follow later.
The overwhelming enthusiasm of the audience made it clear they were on the right path, and that was only the beginning. Lockwood Phillips shown a spotlight on the program from conception, with articles in Carteret News Times putting Cantor’s vision front and center. Between his reporting and Cheryl Burke’s, the community was aware and excited for the prospect of WIN Refuge. Even the mayor, Jerry Jones, was excited for the potential of the program and officially signed his support for it.
Pastor Charles Royal, an attendee of the luncheon, heard the concept of the WIN Refuge and drew connections to a program operating nationally through Family Promise. The Interfaith Hospitality Network, headed by Claas Ehlers, had a very similar setup to Joan Cantor’s inspiring idea. He bridged the communication between the programs. When Cantor and Ehlers connected, it became clear the groundwork had been laid by both parties. Family Promise of Carteret County was soon formed.
HOME AGAIN
Family Promise of Carteret County has seen many changes in the past ten years, not the least being the location. Supporters of Cantor’s vision offered several buildings, including a house with office space on the ground floor on 35th Street. With proximity to the hospital and several care resources, it was gladly chosen as the Day Center of Family Promise of Carteret County. At first, the focus was on outreach. Cantor’s non-profit provided access to showers, washing machines, and support, with only a few people needing shelter.
Blessings abounded, and most of the sturdy furniture that Family Promise uses to this day was donated with the 35th street location. Four families benefited in the first few months, and guests turned their lives around to give back to the program. One former graduate of another affiliate came to teach parents to build their self-worth. Instead of homelessness, parents and children were coming through adversity stronger and more capable.
Creating continuity of care through all the churches took a great deal of coordination, and it worked. One of our students, settled in a home with his parent, went off to college, graduating with so many honors, Joan Cantor recalls, “he looked like a rainbow tapestry.” Although our families come for different reasons, they leave the program stronger.
When FPCC moved to the corner of 15th and Arendell, we needed more space, because the love Joan Cantor had nourished in the beginning had outgrown the building it was housed in. The community we had built was bringing in more support, and the need was just as great.
We are working to expand that space now, as we continue to grow. Renovations to improve the kitchen and laundry room will provide efficiency and storage, and an addition to add capacity for more families are already in the works. Cantor’s vision continues to grow.
BECAUSE OF YOU
When Hurricane Florence devastated our churches and support network, and the pandemic isolated us, our community took a heavy one-two punch. As Cantor recounted the first baby born in the program, she smoothed out an invitation made by First Baptist Church, who hosted a baby shower for the mother. She recounted how joyful everyone was, especially the parent. There was a great deal of hope in the air, despite the difficulties everyone faced. This, more than anything, reminded me why FPCC is here.
Our churches bring their faith, their hope, and their joy to our program. We build our communities through them, and lives are strengthened because of them. Years later, former guests greet Joan and other volunteers gratefully. In stores, in restaurants, and on the street, they say, “Because of you, and what you did for me.”
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
Matthew 25:40