My City February 2022

MYOUTREACH

JAMES MOOREHOUSE, INC. A WAY OUT

BY PETER HINTERMAN ® PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CHERYL GOLIDY

In 2019, Golidy founded James-Moorehouse, Inc., with the mission to care for and support women in recovery from tracking, prostitution, addiction and homelessness.e orga- nization is named after her family’s last name ( James), the last name of a fellow volunteer and friend (Moore), and “house” as the future focal point of care. She quickly established a board of directors and joined Genesee County’s Human Tracking Task Force. “We located a building in Downtown Flint that will serve as temporary housing for those in recovery,” she says. “After securing all of the paperwork necessary, we were getting people and funds in place for renovation when the pandemic hit and put everything on hold. Now that things look to be better, we are getting ready to begin renovations and hopefully open the building in the spring or mid-summer.” With the project on hold during the pandemic, Golidy focused on creating relationships with local organizations, providing outreach to Flint’s needy and building awareness of the human tracking problem. She has aided and built part- nerships to further her endeavor with organizations such as St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center, the New McCree eatre and Mott Community College working with the Black Student Union to provide outreach to the area’s homeless and help raise awareness of human tracking. “e students have been very interested in learning about the problem and working to help,” she adds.

C heryl Golidy has a knack for identifying the needs of her community and helping the underserved. As a nurse and caregiver, her goals are always met with compassion, understanding and the drive to support those in need. So, when she attended a conference and training session on human tracking in Detroit, the next step for her to take in life was revealed. “I had to learn more. I had so many questions,” she states. “I spoke to the head of the organization who gave the presentation and asked for more information.ey invited me to take part in their outreach program, learn how to identify those being tracked and how to help them. I was with the program for six or seven months.” After her training, Golidy returned to Flint with a mission. “Human tracking is a problem and a big problem in Flint,” she explains. “I’ve seen all kinds of things during training and as I ride down streets in Flint, I can spot the problem quickly.”

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