Dee Jackson: Outside the Box

Dee Jackson grew up in Raleigh. She says she did not plan to go into social work when she started college but helping others was in her blood.

“Growing up, I watched my mother help family and friends with food or whatever. I watched it my whole life and so I did it, too. And now, I’m watching my son do it.”

She has done a myriad of things during her 17-year human services career and was recently named the Shelter Program Manager at Urban Ministries of Wake County’s Helen Wright Center for Women.

Dee began working for UMWC nearly six years ago as a contractor. Now, as manager of the Shelter Program, she works to develop and implement systems to help other case managers do their jobs more efficiently.

Dee says she begins her day by meditating, then she reviews emails and case files. She also says she does a lot of research for resources for the women at Helen Wright. For years, Dee has been negotiating with local landlords to get them to work with her on stable housing for the women at HWCW experiencing homelessness.

Once she knows she has a good candidate with income, she asks the landlords to divide leases among two or three women and to work with her on deposits.

The housing crisis in Raleigh has made this even more difficult the past few years and leaves Dee trying to find ways to creatively navigate a situation that grows worse.

“There is not enough housing or affordable housing. Unfortunately, there are going to be homeless people on the streets. We cannot house everybody,” she adds about the issue.

Volunteer Spotlight: Alec Jablonover

Alec has served as a volunteer medical interpreter in our clinic for the last 10 years. He provides Spanish, French, Romanian, and Hebrew interpretation for our patients and providers.

Alec worked at IBM as a development manager for their international markets for 34 years. He then spent time as a counselor for start-ups and as a volunteer at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Alec says he decided to take on this volunteer role at our clinic after learning about the need for medically uninsured patients and their doctors to be able to better communicate via language interpreters.

He says his favorite thing about his job in the clinic at UMWC is “working with very talented and selfless care providers.”

He adds, “Volunteering at UMWC is gratifying on many levels.  Meeting people and giving back to the community is so worthwhile.”

We appreciate all you have given us over the years, Alec! Thank you.