Meet the People we Serve

Meet a few of the people whose lives have been changed because of Crisis Assistance Ministry.


Ada Matthews, a 73-year-old retiree on a fixed income, faced a dreadful decision: She found herself with just enough money to pay for essential medicines or utilities, but not both. Read more.	Last winter, upon receiving a small financial windfall, Kimberly Carthens didn't hesitate to send a $500 donation to Crisis Assistance Ministry, which had helped her out of a huge jam just 11 months earlier. Read more.

Three years after Crisis Assistance Ministry helped him avoid eviction from his home, Kenny Parsons returned to the agency to say thank you -- in a big way! Read more.	Rising utility prices are prompting more people to come to Crisis Assistance Ministry for aid. One such victim of the rising energy prices is Lucill Funderburk, a Charlotte woman who came to Crisis Assistance Ministry on April 3, just one day before her electricity was to be turned off. Read more.

Ada Matthews, with grand-daughter Sierra

Meet Ada Matthews

Ada Matthews, a 73-year-old retiree on a fixed income, faced a dreadful decision last month: She found herself with just enough money to pay for essential medicines or utilities, but not both.

Ultimately, she purchased the medicines, but fell further behind on her utility bills, to the point that she received cut-off notices for both gas and electricity. Panicked, she called Piedmont Natural Gas, which delayed her cut-off an additional two days and suggested she contact Crisis Assistance Ministry.

“I’d never even heard of the agency,” Ms. Matthews recalls, “but my grand-daughter brought me in, and I got help with my gas bill and my electric bill, and neither was cut off. I feel so blessed.”

After working 40 years at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Ms. Matthews retired to Charlotte in 2000, buying a modest house with her daughter and surviving on Social Security and pension benefits. Last year, however, disaster struck when her daughter broke her arm in a fall, missed work and was unable to pay her share of the mortgage.

Ms. Matthews managed to keep the household afloat, getting free samples, when possible, from her doctor for her medicines, and cutting back on all other expenses. But her precarious financial situation got even shakier last Spring when she needed to pay for several costly prescription re-fills at the same time.

“I had to make some impossible choices,” she remembers.

She responded by making minimum utility payments each month. But she slipped further and further behind on her utilities, and last month received cut-off notices for both gas and electricity. It wasn’t until she came to Crisis Assistance Ministry that she was able to get a handle on the ongoing financial crisis.

Meet Kenny Parsons

Kenny Parsons, girlfriend Shawna Haynes

Three years after Crisis Assistance Ministry helped him avoid eviction from his home, Kenny Parsons returned to the agency to say thank you -- in a big way!

“It was important for me to give to the place that helped me when I was at the lowest point in my life,” says Kenny, 26, upon returning to the agency with his generous donation.

In 2005, Kenny had just graduated from Johnson C. Smith University and was struggling to start an automotive sales business. His financial problems worsened, and he soon found himself at Crisis Assistance Ministry for help with an eviction notice.

“My mom had been helping me, but it was a huge burden for her,” he explains. “So, I went to Crisis Assistance Ministry, as a last resort.” The visit to the agency had a profound impact on Kenny. “The caseworker was so caring and compassionate that it almost made me cry,” he recalls. “I couldn’t believe anyone could care so much about my situation.”

Shortly thereafter, Kenny’s life began to change for the better. Today, he is a sales professional with Allstate Insurance Company, owns his own home, and is feeling safe, contented and prosperous. “My life has been blessed,” Kenny says. “I’m told my donation could help several families keep their homes. That’s great.”

Kimberly Carthens

Meet Kimberly Carthens

Last winter, upon receiving a small financial windfall, Kimberly Carthens didn't hesitate to send a $500 donation to Crisis Assistance Ministry, which had helped her out of a huge jam just 11 months earlier.

“I felt an obligation to pay back those people who helped me,” she explained. “God blessed me with that money and I wanted to give it back.”

Ms. Carthens says she is on stable footing now, a far cry from December 2006 when her hours were reduced at work and her bills began to mount. Upon receiving court papers from her landlord for an eviction, she turned to Crisis Assistance Ministry.

“They were my last resort,” she says. “I was in trouble and I didn’t have any family in Charlotte, or any friends who could help. But the agency gave my landlord $500 so I could keep my home." The emergency aid she received helped her regain control of her situation, and her finances steadily improved. In November 2007, Ms. Carthens changed jobs, joining the customer service department of a medical devices company. Upon leaving her former employer, she received an unexpected cash payment, a portion of which she donated to help someone else facing similar circumstances.

Meet Lucill Funderburk

Lucill Funderburk

Rising utility prices are prompting more people to come to Crisis Assistance Ministry for aid. One such victim of the rising energy prices is Lucill Funderburk, a Charlotte woman who came to Crisis Assistance Ministry on April 3, just one day before her electricity was to be turned off.

“I had to stay home from work to take care of my three-year-old daughter, who had the flu, and I had just started a new job and didn’t have any paid time off,” Ms. Funderburk, recalls of the circumstances that brought her to Crisis Assistance Ministry for relief. Ultimately, the agency was able to intervene, and her power was not turned off.

A Charlotte native and resident of the University area of the city, Ms. Funderburk works as a Certified Nurse’s Assistant at a local nursing home. “The folks at Crisis were very helpful and understanding,” she adds. “You never know when you are going to need help, even people with a good job, making good money. It is a tough economy.”