If those cowboy boots have spent the summer in the back of the closet, it’s time to dig them out.

Just HOPE’s Raise the Barn for Hope event is Sept. 17 at the Triple J Barn Event Center in Mocksville from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., featuring music, a best boot contest, cornhole tournaments, food, dancing, a cash bar, and a silent auction.

Just HOPE (JHI), was founded in January 2010 by Krystal Dumas, who saw the need for a mobile food pantry to serve those who could not travel to other resources. Most of Dumas’ clients didn’t qualify for traditional public assistance, but, found themselves in need. The program serves around 75 families monthly along with emergency cases on a day-to-day basis.

“Families are going through hard times and falling through government program cracks,” Dumas said. “These families are living in multi-family households with unsafe sleeping situations, living in motels, sleeping in their cars, and even residing in tents wherever they can find a vacant space of land. Until JHI started the Homeless Prevention Program in 2013, Davie County did not have specific resources or agencies dedicated to helping this population.”

The program works to first address the family’s hunger issue, and then to address the root of the issue, which may be high rent, high electricity bills, or the loss of a job. Most families require assistance for only a few months, until they are more financially stable. JHI provides food and hygiene items, job search, budget building, agency referrals, counseling, and once the family finds housing, furniture, clothing and household items from its in-house thrift store, which it operates to help fund its services.

People are able to use JHI’s office as their mail center, a place to send and receive calls and messages, and a refuge from the weather.

JHI also operates a family day center and provides computers for job searches, creation of resumes, taking online classes, and homework, and most importantly, provides a place where a family can spend time together. Dumas hopes the Raise the Barn event will help generate funds to build a separate day center, as the day center and thrift store currently share the same space. She envisions a facility with a laundry room, expanded bathroom facilities and the ability to allow families to have more privacy than they currently have.

Tickets for the Raise the Barn are $40 per person or $75 per couple. DJ Willi and The Jason Leake Band will provide entertainment, and there will be a full barbecue dinner. Silent auction items include a mountain getaway, a week’s stay at a condo in Atlantic Beach, gift baskets, a recliner, golf pack, a fitness package and more. Tickets may be purchased at 277 N. Main St. in Mocksville or by contacting Dumas at (336) 909-4241.

JHI is a United Way partner agency and also accepts donations of food, supplies, coupons, or money from individuals, businesses and organizations. The thrift store accepts clothing, shoes, movies, books, household items, furniture, and other household goods.

For more information about the organization, their website is www.justhopeinc.org.