- [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

- [Amy Burkett] Just ahead on Carolina Impact, - [Jeff Sonier] Afghan refugees coming to Charlotte, but where will they live?

I'm Jeff Sonier, stick around, we'll tell you how Catholic charities and other refugee agencies are dealing with the same problem we're all dealing with, Charlotte's housing crunch.

- Whether you think of hospitality as your grandma's house or your favorite hotel chain, one North Carolina family is betting you'll enjoy Refuge on Central.

We'll take you inside.

- [Amy Burkett] Plus, meet the music producer pushing to make sure musicians from all genres get a shot at the local music scene.

Carolina Impact starts right now.

- [Jeff Sonier] Carolina Impact, covering the issues, people, and places that impact you.

This is Carolina Impact.

- Good evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

Imagine arriving here in Charlotte.

It's your first time in the U.S., no money in your pocket, no friends or family in town, just the promise of somewhere to live, somewhere that's safe.

For refugees from Afghanistan, risking everything to get here, it's a risk worth taking.

But as they start their new lives here in Charlotte, Carolina Impact's Jeff Sonier says there's still one tough Charlotte problem to overcome.

- Yeah, Catholic charities of Charlotte is one of two agencies here in North Carolina that resettle refugees.

And they say usually the process takes years.

But for the Afghan refugees, we're talking about weeks, not years, which is a challenge, especially here in Charlotte, finding homes for all those refugees.

When housing is already in short supply and prices are already sky high.

We all saw the chaos in Cabo, refugees running and hanging on tight to a military flight taking off without them and the frightened frantic scene outside here.

- [Refugee] And people pushing to get closer to the gate.

And by the time I reached to the news forces, I kept asking them that I'm going to try here.

♪ - Everybody's have to fight to be free ♪ ♪ - So you don't have to live like a refugee ♪ - [Refugee] I saw kids.

I saw women who were stamped.

♪ - No you don't have to live like a refugee ♪ - [Refugee] People who run them over, and I don't know if they're alive or not.

- [Jeff Sonier] They're desperate to escape Afghanistan, not because they want to, but because they have to.

♪ - You don't have to live like a refugee ♪ - [Jeff Sonier] They're refugees cause they don't have a choice?

- [Sandy Buck] Correct.

- [Jeff Sonier] Yeah and thankfully, - [Sandy Buck] Most refugees are refugees cause they don't have a choice.

They don't want to leave their home country, but circumstances beyond their control, make it impossible for them to stay.

- [Jeff Sonier] But Sandy Buck, who oversees the resettlement of refugees for Catholic charities in Charlotte, says they're desperate too.

- Housing, we are desperate right now for housing.

So we're talking about a thousand souls coming into the city of Charlotte over the course of the next one month to 12 months - [Jeff Sonier] Not just Afghan refugees, but hundreds coming from other countries too.

All seeking, here in Charlotte, what we all want, mostly just a safe place to live.

- [Sandy Buck] And housing is scarce right now.

These folks have already been through so much.

We want them to be able to settle in.

We really need to get behind the housing issue first, the rest we can worry about later, but we really need the housing.

- (melancholy music playing) - By the way, which one is yours?

Which apartment?

- [Jeff Sonier] That's what Mediatrice Uwimana has now, an apartment on the east side, that Catholic charities found for her.

Plus a good job to support her young son and a future she never had as a refugee from Rwanda, living in a tent after escaping war in the Congo.

- [Jeff Sonier] What was it like coming to Charlotte after leaving Rwanda?

I mean, it must've just been.

- [Mediatrice Uwimana] It was like amazing.

It was amazing.

I've been never dream that dream.

Cause you know, when you in bad condition, you cannot get higher.

- [Jeff Sonier] Why would you want to leave here?

- [Lazaro Izquidreo] (speaking foreign language) - [Translator] The first is he wanted to find his father.

- [Jeff Sonier] Catholic charities also helped Cuban refugee Lazaro Izquidreo reunite with his father in Monroe, 22 years after dad left Cuba by boat, when the younger Izquidreo was just a child.

Now he has a wife and a child of his own.

- [Translator] You know, not everybody gets the opportunity to bring your child with you.

- [Afgan Man] They think that I'm a translator, but in reality, my wife is living in the U.S. - [Jeff Sonier] While many of these refugees from Afghanistan already speak English and have job skills from working with the U.S. military, what they don't have in Charlotte yet is a place to live.

- [Sandy Buck] Typically in the past, we've had a set of landlords that we've always rented from that we could just call them up and say, "Hey, we've got an arrival in two weeks.

Do you have a unit?"

And they turn over the keys.

We set up the apartment so that it's ready and waiting when the family gets off the plane.

They're just not out there.

- [Jeff Sonier] Buck adds what is out there now is a lot more expensive too.

It's the same affordable housing crunch that everybody in Charlotte is facing.

Only, it's worse for the refugees who arrive without social security numbers or credit histories that many apartments require.

- We're not experts at housing, we're not realtors.

And we really need somebody who has that expertise to come forward and say, I know how you can find these units.

We're good renters.

Our folks pay the rent and we are supporting them with case management and employment so that they have a really good chance of being self-sufficient very quickly after they arrive.

- [Jeff Sonier] Catholic charities is also reaching out to North Carolina based veterans' groups with ex-military members offering to help the Afghan refugees who helped them so much during the war in Afghanistan that forced the refugees to flee.

- We're working with Veterans Bridge Home, and they are galvanizing the support of various veterans groups across the state to try to pull together and assist us in this process in whatever way they can.

We're responding to our biblical call to welcome the stranger.

So for us, it's a privilege to help safely resettle these vulnerable refugees, but we do need the community support to help us.

- Yeah, and Buck adds that for those Afghans who did get out of the country and are now waiting for that final move from a U.S. military base to Charlotte or some other city, well, agencies like Catholic charities only get between 24 and 48 hours notice ahead of time, which isn't a lot of time to set up a new house, a new job, maybe school for the kids, an entire new life, really, but at least that new life will be a safer life.

Amy.

- Thank you, Jeff.

If you're a landlord who'd like to help these new refugees to Charlotte, you'll find a link at pbscharlotte.org.

Catholic charities says they also need donations of furniture and other home goods plus volunteers to help set up the refugees' new homes once they find those new homes.

So if you're looking for a place of refuge, you might be interested in a new, innovative hotel in Plaza Midwood.

According to the university of Michigan, consumer sentiment is rising.

And when we feel better, we tend to spend more.

This is encouraging news for people and industries crushed by the pandemic.

Carolina impact's Tonia Lyon takes us inside this brand new mini hotel.

- [Tonia Lyon] With neighborhoods and economies slowly recovering from the impact of COVID-19, it can be easy to think nothing will ever change.

Owners of Refuge on Central are hoping a closer look will spark delight in weary travelers.

- [Nimisha Patel] So there's a lot of richness here and I believe that it has the strongest sense of place.

- [Tonia Lyon] What was once a popular Plaza Midwood burger joint is now, - [Nimisha Patel] A five room, a small batch hotel.

- [Tonia Lyon] With a single hallway, no front desk, and a photo honoring Grandma Patel.

Her image and so many other things point to the beauty of the past and the promise of the future.

- [Nimisha Patel] I start new things, I disrupt old things.

I keep what's good about those old things in legacy wanes and couple it with the new way and better ways of doing things.

So we call up this room four, proper room for four, because we've been very thoughtful about designing the space to accommodate four people from the beds, to where they would get ready, to also the bathroom.

And that's a contrast from typical hotels.

- [Tonia Lyon] Nimisha Patel shows us around her passion project.

- That's how we thought about this room.

- [Tonia Lyon] Hospitality has been the family business for both her and her husband for generations.

- [Jay Patel] So you kind of end up learning by the age of 10, 11, 12 years old if you're in that life, how to fix toilets, how to relocate electrical outlets, how to check people in, how to do laundry, how to get the best deal at Costco.

- [Tonia Lyon] The Patels are taking a risk on a new experience for their family.

One that values engaging with the surrounding community, embracing it, and exploring what it means to be fully human.

Nimisha calls it radical empathy.

- [Nimisha Patel] Here I want people to be able to walk in and really feel a sense of relaxation.

Come as you are be your whole self, it's a no-judgment zone.

- [Tonia Lyon] "Come as you are and experience something new" is the thread that runs through each of the five rooms.

Each room is under 300 square feet.

And as you can see, it's packed with interesting art, colors, textures, styles.

Each room is completely unique.

But what you can't see is this underlying commitment, no longer to efficiency, but to effectiveness.

This one's called "We're not in Kansas anymore".

- [Jay Patel] Efficiency just means quick I think.

It means cheap.

It has a lot of implications, but efficient means you're trying to sort of minimize, use the least amount of resources as possible.

- The scale of this wallpaper is intentional because it's showing that aspect of our culture.

However, if you turn right behind you, very subtly, we've placed an image of an Indian woman on a cricket field.

- Yeah.

So the destination is, you know, how do you feel as a customer?

Are we engaging you?

Do you feel that you love this experience so much that you're gonna come back over and over again?

I wanna measure it by how well I delight you as a customer.

- [Tonia Lyon] Customers so far do seem pleased and neighbors we talked with are welcoming of the new concepts, or at least not bothered by it.

There has been no organized opposition and Patel hopes the neighborhood will support plans for a much larger hotel here in the near future.

- [Jay Patel] So the hotel, it will be our canvas.

And so this will be the medium through which we tell our story.

- [Nimisha Patel] Come as you are and do that in a beautiful, inspiring space.

I think there's something really magical and beautiful about that.

And that's what keeps me coming back.

- [Tonia Lyon] Reservations for Refuge on Central are available online now.

And though it remains an uncertain time for the hotel industry, the Patels remain hopeful this more artistic creative concept will catch on.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Tonia Lyon reporting.

- Thank you, Tonia.

The cost of staying at the hotel ranges from $150 to $190 a night, and even more development is coming to Plaza Midwood.

Developers are working to transform 12 acres in the heart of the neighborhood into a hub of apartments, retail spaces, and offices.

At just five feet, three inches tall, that's six inches shorter than the average American male, Muggsy Bogues is the shortest player to ever play in the National Basketball Association.

As Carolina Impact's Jason Terzis shows us, even two decades after his playing days ended, this local icon is still giving back to the community.

- [Man] Well, who doesn't know Muggsy?

- [Sports Announcer] Muggsy Bogues all the way to the hoop.

- Anybody in Charlotte, anybody around the NBA knows Muggsy.

- [Sports Announcer] Penetrates, goes in for the layup, it is good!

Is he exciting?

- [Jason Terzis] His playing days ended 20 years ago, but say the name "Muggsy" around Charlotte and just about everyone knows who you're talking about.

- He's an iconic figure, especially in 90s basketball.

- [Sports Announcer] And a steal by Muggsy Bogues!

- Who doesn't know Muggsy?

- [Jason Terzis] The shortest player to ever play in the NBA, Muggsy Bogues overcame his five foot, three inch height, and all the doubters who came along with it to enjoy a 14-year professional career.

10 of those years spent with the original Charlotte Hornets.

- Sometimes it makes me nostalgic and cry a little bit because to know that this game was made for men that are six feet and above or whatever, and to know that he was in it, he played for 14 years.

- [Jason Terzis] For Muggsy, it's been a lifetime overcoming obstacles, growing up in public housing in Baltimore, he witnessed a murder.

His father was sentenced to 20 years for armed robbery, and his brother has battled drug addiction.

- Growing up in Baltimore was challenging.

You know, my journey, you know, the hardships and the obstacles that I had to overcome.

- [Jason Terzis] Basketball became his outlet, leading his high school teams to back-to-back undefeated seasons in state championships.

He then starred at Wake Forest and to this day still remains the school's all time leader in steals and assists.

- My dad's biggest thing is you can overcome any obstacles as long as you believe in yourself.

And also if you have a strong village around you.

- [Jason Terzis] Taken by the Hornets in the 1988 Expansion Draft, he instantly became a fan favorite.

And along with Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning, led the teal and purple craze, and the team's rise in the early to mid 90s.

- (Chanting) Go Boston!

- [Jason Terzis] At the height of his popularity, he was even a guest on Saturday Night Live.

- Look at Charles.

Look at him.

Muggsy look at Charles.

- (Audience laughing) - Charles look at Muggsy.

- (Audience laughing) - And?

- And, I love you.

- (Audience laughing and clapping) - [Jason Terzis] After finishing up his playing days, Muggsy became head coach of the now defunct, Charlotte Sting, of the WNBA and now serves as a Hornets team ambassador.

- Charlotte's my home base.

It was where I kind of started my roots and started planning things besides the game of basketball, it was outside of the game.

You know, I've been raising my family, my kids were here, they was going to school.

I became interested in real estate.

So I was starting to get invested in the city.

- He's always been a really good buddy to me, especially as I've been part of the organization.

- [Jason Terzis] Overcoming life's obstacles himself, Muggsy wanted to help create opportunities for others.

So he created the Muggsy Bogues Family Foundation.

- Well ideally I'm starting this foundation through my journey.

You know, I felt like I was inspired to more or less share my personal story.

- He's like a beacon of light for those that don't know where to go, don't know how to get.

- [Jason Terzis] The foundation has three main goals, provide food for those in need, access to education, and job training.

- Charlotte alone has thousands of non-profits.

And so our goal was really to kind of fill in the gap and really see what the true needs are and how can we meet immediate needs?

- We're not trying to reinvent the wheel of what other organizations are already doing.

So we partner with other nonprofit organizations like Charlotte Rescue Mission.

- There's tons of scholarships for people that are going through the academic route, but they're really limited when it comes to trades, and we really need that.

The pandemic, if nothing else, showed us how important those trades are.

- Right now with Central Piedmont Community College Foundation, we have it set up where we give out four $2,500 scholarships a year.

- This foundation is very, very, very special to me.

- [Jason Terzis] One of the many people the foundation helped in a recent food giveaway is Tamra Boyer, who was hit especially hard by the pandemic.

- And it's not only just a box of food, talking to individuals, getting connected with people.

That is the most important part.

- [Jason Terzis] The foundation recently held its third annual golf outing fundraiser, 136 players taking part, featuring the likes of former Panthers players Steve Smith, Jonathan Stewart, and Mike Tolbert, as well as former Hornets like Del Curry and Gerald Henderson.

- [Jonathan Stewart] It's an easy win for everyone, right?

We get to be around good people doing great things in the community.

- You know, anytime you can bring a group of people together to help a good cause, you know, and you're able to, it's a no brainer, especially with Muggsy.

- Everybody's passionate about our cause, our mission, and they overwhelmingly supported in the things that we continue to do.

- 20 Years removed from the game and he's still popular and trending.

It's just kinda neat.

It shows you that it's more about the story that his life shows that, you know, you can overcome any adversity that you face.

- [Jason Terzis] Overcoming hurdles his entire life, and now helping to support a community that's always supported him.

- Team Muggsy.

Team Muggsy.

- [Jason Terzis] For Carolina Impact, I'm Jason Terzis reporting.

- It's great to see him continue to give back to our region.

Thanks Jason, for sharing that story.

This year's golf outing raised $63,000 for the foundation.

For more information, or to learn how you can get involved, visit Muggsy's link on our website at pbscharlotte.org.

As Charlotte grows, so does the city's rich diverse music scene.

One nonprofit is working to make sure Charlotte audiences are exposed to a variety of musical genres.

Carolina Impact's Sheila Saints introduces us to the Fair Play Music Equity Initiative and its founder "Dae-Lee" Arrington.

♪ - Imagine if we love more than we hate, ♪ ♪ and if you weren't judged by the skin on a face ♪ ♪ and care for the next man wasn't out of place ♪ ♪ cause we all knew one day, we need that same grace.

♪ - [Sheila Saints] That's David "Dae-Lee" Arrington, a hip hop artist, music producer and entrepreneur.

♪ - Yes, fresh on the scene, ♪ walk with a lean, no phone, know mean?

♪ - [Sheila Saints] In 2001, Arrington move to South Charlotte from Norfolk, Virginia to study multimedia and design.

- [Dae-Lee Arrington] Very much a 180-flip for me, racially, culturally, socioeconomically.

- (rap music playing) - [Sheila Saints] The transition ♪ - After spreadin my wings, yeah I'm ready to fly ♪ - [Sheila Saints] proved to be life-changing.

He started writing and producing songs on a keyboard his uncle gave him.

He began performing rap music at predominantly white churches and also produced a Grammy nominated gospel album.

During this time, Dae-Lee saw a need for a more inclusive music scene in Charlotte.

- I can do what I can based on my unique experience of what I call, going from the corner to the cul-de-sac.

You know what I mean?

A black cultural experience to a white cultural experience like half of my life, half of my life, and I can do what I can to build bridges there, but I can't do that for every culture, every language, every musical style.

That again brings me back to the unique value that individuals bring.

And only when we come together, can that happen.

- (foreign singing) - [Sheila Saints] He co-founded a nonprofit called Fair Play Music Equity Initiative, which encourages venues and event planners to book diverse acts.

- [Dae-Lee Arrington] Immediately off the bat, again, there was a need for what we did.

So the White Water Center, they were having their Confluence Festival, which was a three-day music conference.

Fair Play was able to just inform them and give opportunity to people who are doing dope things in the community.

But because those who are empowered, who make those decisions, don't float in their circles, so you don't have that access over that opportunities.

- Through his various efforts Dae-Lee is hoping to bring people together, especially through music.

So people have a better understanding of each other and their different backgrounds and cultures.

- (drums playing) - [Sheila Saints] Founding member, Tim Scott.

- [Tim Scott] Seriously, a lot of people don't understand how big of a hub Charlotte is for music and musicians who work and operate on a national level.

- (drums playing) - [Tim Scott] I've been touring since I was 16 years old.

It's been one of my personal goals to help amplify that conversation.

And I think the work that we do at Fair Play is a part of that work because it kind of helps to ignite those fires and ignite those conversations.

- [Sheila Saints] And those conversations help musicians get a fair shot.

- [Tim Scott] It's about building the bridges.

When we came together, I think in some of our initial conversations, that was like the biggest thing, making sure that we brought people together.

The cool thing about Fair Play is it's comprised of people in the community, in various roles throughout the community, who are very well connected like myself.

- [Sheila Saints] People like Claudio Ortiz, a professional musician.

He says Fair Play Equity Music Initiative ensures a variety of music is represented on Charlotte's stages.

- [Claudio Ortiz] Charlotte's exploding, you know, with population and like different cultures.

Through Fair Play, I've really opened my eyes to all of the different pockets that I wasn't necessarily aware of.

If you go to a show and sort of like only see one genre, that's an experience, that's fine.

But if you go to a show and you're kind of exposed to three or four different kinds of genres and different musical styles, at least like for me as a music person, I love that.

- [Sheila Saints] Sara Colee says their mission is to advocate for a fair music ecosystem.

- [Sara Colee] We deeply believe that our differences make the difference.

Fair Play exists to help people understand, not just that it's important, but we also create a dialogue to help consult with people so that they can see not only that it is important, but how can we go about creating within the context of their space, whether that be an organization or a platform, how can you do that strategically to be inclusive, to embrace diversity, to embrace differences?

♪ - Man, so much more I wanna say, ♪ ♪ but I just listen quietly and hear God say aye ♪ - [Sheila Saints] Embracing differences is also why Dae-Lee founded a for-profit agency called Hugh House for black creatives and artists.

- I would say, in my work with Hugh House as well as Fair Play Music Equity Initiative, and just who I am as a bridge builder, will create opportunities for people to be challenged.

And I would say opportunities for their own growth and exploring what they just don't know for the benefit of not just themselves, but also those around them in their community.

I do believe what we're doing does that.

- [Sheila Saints] Building a community that values all voices and contributions.

- Yes, yes.

Give it up for Key Soul.

- [Sheila Saints] For Carolina Impact, I'm Sheila saints reporting.

- Thanks so much, Sheila.

Dae-Lee also has been involved in Charlotte creative mornings, the Tasco music party and local festivals.

Well, that's all the time we have this evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

We always appreciate your time and look forward to seeing you back here again, next time on Carolina Impact.

Goodnight, my friends.

- [Narrator] A production of PBS Charlotte.