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Crisis Assistance Ministry

Crisis Assistance Ministry

Charlotte, NC

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Small Miracles Lead to Big Impact

Kim is a portrait of resilience and persistence. After a medical emergency and a job layoff left her and her children at risk of eviction, she turned to Crisis Assistance Ministry for help. Thanks to community support, she found a way forward and few "small miracles" along the way.

September 10, 2019

“It was a miracle, in so many words.”

That’s how Kim describes the feeling of relief from visiting Crisis Assistance Ministry.

That morning, she really didn’t know what was going to happen. She couldn’t believe how quickly everything had come apart. Not too long ago Kim and her two children (ages 12 and 5) were doing just fine. She had a good job in financial services where she had worked for 10 years with benefits, a 401(k), and medical insurance.

But then, disaster struck. A simple surgery led to complications and second emergency surgery. While recovering, she learned her department was being downsized and her job was being eliminated. Her time away meant she didn’t qualify for severance and soon she would be without medical insurance, too.

When the eviction notice arrived, she couldn’t even lift a box due to her surgery. Filled with worry, she was determined to find a solution. She turned to the community for help through Crisis Assistance Ministry.

Here, she met with a caring caseworker who listened to her situation, provided rental assistance paid directly to her landlord, and connected Kim with the agency’s Economic Mobility Program to work on stabilizing her situation and creating a plan to rebuild financial stability.

“Just being able to walk out of here without having to stress about ‘how am I going to tell my kids, how am I going to get my things out when I can’t even lift anything while recovering from surgery, where are we going to go, all of the things’,” says Kim. “It was a lot of relief to know that we were able to stay in our home just because of that [small] blessing to some, but a big blessing to us.”

Over the next three months, Kim met regularly with an Economic Mobility specialist while working multiple “gig” jobs and looking for more stable employment. Together, they worked on budgeting, financial management, goal-setting, and other tools to get back on her feet.

Kim’s self-professed persistence was an asset as she made hard choices and kept pursuing new opportunities. She visited the agency’s Free Store for clothing and household goods. A furniture referral allowed her to replace the children’s worn-out beds as well. She kept looking for new employment, sought out training through the Employment Security Commission, and kept plugging away at side jobs to stay afloat.

Kim and her family on graduation day after completing eight weeks of Customer Advocate training offered by Crisis Assistance Ministry.

She enrolled in Crisis Assistance Ministry’s Customer Advocate training program where she practiced public speaking skills and gained insight into how her own story connects to the larger needs of low-income families in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. She began to think about using her own voice to effect change. On graduation day, she shared her dream of creating a nonprofit that connects single mothers to resources for family and financial well-being.

Kim’s journey has been a portrait of resilience and persistence. She recently landed a temporary job back in the financial industry she’s known for most of her career. She still has a daunting task in front of her as she climbs out of a deep financial hole. But, she’s determined to get her family back on track.

And she’s so grateful for those small miracles: help with rent to stay in her home, help to keep the lights on and the water running, and help to reclaim her voice and her family’s future. Seemingly basic things that have made a big difference for Kim and her children.

Each of those “miracles” was made possible by you, and others like you. Thank you.

Filed Under: Customer Stories Tagged With: Customer, Customer Advocate, Economic Mobility, Financial Assistance

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Crisis Assistance Ministry

Preventing homelessness.
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  • Main Office:
    500-A Spratt St.
    Charlotte, NC 28206
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    EIN 56-1416719

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We are so #grateful for the team of dedicated #volunteers who volunteer their time & expertise on our Board of Directors. Today we welcome five newly elected members: Deborah Brewer, Yog Hari, Ed Holland, Deirdre John, and John Magnuson. (Learn about them through our linktree)

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We've got a special shout out to @championhouseofcare and @beyoubegreatnonprofit for their tireless commitment to helping the seniors displaced from Magnolia Apartments since Christmas Day. @CrisisAssistMin is proud to be working alongside these passionate grassroots organizations and @housingcollab_ to help craft individual plans to get our neighbors back into stable housing while ensuring their basic needs continue to be met.

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These community-minded Deltas celebrated Founder's Day last week by inspecting and preparing donated goods for Free Store shoppers. With their help, families shopping free of charge will find essentials to help them live with dignity this week.

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The King Center's theme for MLK Day 2023 is "It Start's With Me: Cultivating A Beloved Community Mindset to Transform Unjust Systems." Fifty-five years after his death, we still see the impacts of unjust systems every day at Crisis Assistance Ministry.  Read more in this weekend's blog (link in bio)

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Crisis Assistance Ministry will be closed on Monday, January 16 in observance of  Martin Luther King Day. The office will be closed to all customers, volunteers, staff, and donors. Typical hours resume on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.

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Families in Charlotte, and across the country, are struggling to make ends meet. Inflation has outpaced wage growth. People are working harder than ever but still falling behind on rent and utilities. People need more money. But could we use policy to get more money into the hands of those who need it the most? This week's blog takes a look at the potential for Guaranteed Basic Income here in the Queen City. (Link in bio)
📷 courtesy of @stocktondemo

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Just one more day before we're back to "normal." So, @CrisisAssistMin is closed January 2, 2023,  and will return to typical business hours tomorrow, January 3.
(Financial assistance 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Free Store by appointment 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Donation drop off 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

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Wishing you hope, warmth, & light in the new year and beyond.
(P.S. @crisisassistmin will be closed tomorrow, January 2, and reopen with typical hours on Tuesday, January 3, 2023.)

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"Everybody wants to have that light shine."
Nikki shares what the holidays mean to her family as we reach the end of the year.  Looking back, she's grateful for the help of the community to get her through a financial crisis and back on her feet moving toward economic mobility.
Thousands more families will seek that same kind of help -- to stay safely housed, to keep utilities flowing, to provide clothing and household goods, and to rebuild financial stability -- in 2023.
Visit our quick links to learn more and to make a tax-deductible year-end gift to help more of our neighbors in the coming year.
Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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