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Crisis Assistance Ministry

Crisis Assistance Ministry

Charlotte, NC

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One Area Where Charlotte Should Rank Dead Last

You get home from work and are greeted with a padlock on your door. You panic. Where is your daughter who stays home alone after school? Where will you sleep tonight?

June 1, 2018


By Carol Hardison, Chief Executive Officer at Crisis Assistance Ministry

Special to The Charlotte Observer

You get home from work and are greeted with a padlock on your door. You panic. Where is your daughter who stays home alone after school? Where will you sleep tonight? What about your clothes, furniture and possessions which you will lose unless you can hire a moving truck and rent a storage unit within the next 5-7 days? You wish you had never trusted your ex-husband to pay the rent as promised.

This personal story of a Crisis Assistance Ministry board member mirrors that of nearly 30,000 households in Mecklenburg County annually. Lives upended by eviction notices in the midst of trying to keep it all together after a financial crisis. The downward spiral of homelessness begins.

“Eviction is both a cause and condition of poverty,” said Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Evicted. His research revealed that Charlotte’s eviction rate is almost twice similar cities such as Raleigh, Atlanta and Nashville. As a matter of fact, we are the 21st highest in evictions out of 100 US cities. 

Families lose possessions, owe court fees, incur apartment application fees, need security, utility and rent deposits and more. And missed work during this trauma just compounds the financial crisis. The initial trigger might be unpaid time off with a sick child, a cancer diagnosis, a robbery or a market rate adjustment notice that the rent is going up $200. Whatever the cause, the eviction cycle is traumatic, expensive and unrelenting for families who become “hidden homeless” and just need a safe place to sleep. 

According to the recent three-part series on Charlotte Mecklenburg evictions authored by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and initiated by the Housing Advisory Board, Mecklenburg County has roughly one eviction for every 37 people, and that rate more than doubles in some neighborhoods in north, east and west Charlotte. 

The momentum created by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force report is inspiring. The city manager’s proposed $50 million Housing Trust Fund and other initiatives to fill our affordable housing gap prove our community is serious. Let’s add one more bold commitment. Let’s fight for our city to be in last place. Let’s aim to be 100 out of 100 — in evictions. 

Retrieved from The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article212112244.html Retrieved May 30, 2018.

Filed Under: Advocacy, Agency News Tagged With: Advocacy, Carol Hardison, Charlotte Observer, Eviction

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Crisis Assistance Ministry

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  • Main Office:
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    Charlotte, NC 28206
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What's in your closet that could help out a neighbor in the warmer months? 
Spring has sprung here in the Queen City. That means the needs of families shopping, free of charge, at @CrisisAssistMin are changing too. 
You can help meet their needs with donations of new or gently used clothing, shoes, or household goods or by signing up as a volunteer to help receive, inspect, and prepare donations for shoppers.

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THANKS for all you do to give back in #CLT.

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Happy International Women's Day!
Today we take a look at how this year's theme of Embrace Equity affects the people (and mostly the women) served here at Crisis Assistance Ministry every day.

Observed worldwide on March 8 as a celebration of “the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women,” International Women’s Day is also a global call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

The theme for this year’s observance is “Embrace Equity.” Organizers at International Women’s Day (IWD) encourage everyone to “Imagine a gender-equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated.” 

While great strides in gender equality have been achieved since women gained the right to vote in 1920, there is still much work ahead. Consider these indicators of the gender gap in the United States:
- Women full-time workers earn, on average, 82 cents for every dollar earned by men
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Read More at the link in our bio

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The theme for Black History Month 2023 is “Resistance”, a single word that encompasses so much. Through the centuries, a long line of brave and committed Black Americans have battled injustice, some on the public stage and others behind the scenes. But for every high-profile or large-scale act of resistance, countless others go unnoticed. Every day at @CrisisAssistMin, we see brave and committed Black Charlotteans struggling to resist the forces of an unjust society right here in Mecklenburg County.
Read "Black History Month: Resisting the Status Quo" at the link in our profile.

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It was a beautiful weekend to share (more than) @onewarmcoat with our neighbors! Our friends from One Warm Coat finished up their working retreat by distributing brand new coats to families right here in our parking lot. So many smiles, a few tears of relief, and a lot of runway spins were shared.

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We 💙 💙 💙 it when community members create their own "Army" to celebrate birthdays and other milestones in each others' lives. Thanks to these #volunteers from "Eric's Army," shoppers this week found essentials like clothing, shoes, and household goods free of charge. Together, we #preservedignity for #CLT families who are struggling financially.

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We're excited to have @QCfamilytree share their expertise as our staff digs into the impact of systemic racism here in Mecklenburg County and its impact on the people served here. Thanks Greg, Helms, & Shamaiye for taking time to help us begin these important conversations.

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