1. Carson Dean; director of the Shelter Carson.Dean@MensShelterOfCharlotte.org
Julie Putnam; volunteer coordinator Julie.Putnam@MensShelterOfCharlotte .org
Subject: Update: Housing and Employment Resource Center at Men’s Shelter of
Charlotte
March 8, 2013
Dear Carson Dean and Julie Putnam:
I began serving the Housing and Employment Resource Center at the Men’s Shelter
of Charlotte just a few weeks ago. In that short time, I have witnessed the positive
impact the Men’s Shelter has had helping homeless men in our community for over
30 years.
The Housing and Employment Resource Center is a vital service offered for the men
at the Shelter. It offers the men a step-by-step path to ultimately reach their goal of
permanent employment and a place to call home. As a specialist in the Resource
Center, my first responsibility is to listen to the needs of any individual and
determine the steps to best serve his needs. As a group, we are collectively working
on helping these men find a job and secure a steady income. A steady income will
bring the ability to pay rent and a place to stay. We assist in finding places available
for rent in the individuals price range and help determine if a certain place is near
such services as public transit. We provide any information, to the best of our
knowledge, that is positive and helpful.
Sometimes it is difficult because we do not have the information or answers to the
men’s questions. Just this week, I was asked about finding housing if a person is a
convicted felon.A gentleman told me how he had been paying non-refundable
application fees only to be turned down after it came to light that he is a convicted
felon. He spoke to me about frustrations the mistakes of his past were still causing
him. He and I agreed to not give up despite solutions not being readily available.
Each man at the shelter has a unique situation and story. Every unique situation
brings experience and new knowledge that I can use to help the next individual
seeking our assistance.
In the short time I have been serving the Men’s Shelter, I have already seen
improvements. Two weeks ago the Resource Center was provided with two
additional computers. These computers are an essential resource to serve more
men in a more efficient time frame. These computers will prove vital in serving
more individuals during the condensed time we are there each week.
I hope to continuing serving the Men’s Shelter for the indefinite future and
furthering the Shelter’s goal of serving the community and effectively ending
homelessness for the men the Shelter serves.

2. Sincerely,
S. Addison Dalton
The personalization in this message is what makes it really strong. The specific
references mixed with the overall goals of Faith, Hope, Love play to the emotions
and are highly persuasive. This is really effective throughout and probably most
effective when you are writing about the student you are mentoring and the
experiences you have had up to this date.