Meet Lucy the loyal 16-year-old black lab.
Pet lovers know the importance of a furry best friend. Lucy has provided Tammy with a lot of love and support over the years.
Tammy and Lucy moved to Charlotte to support her sister with her first pregnancy. She got a job as an assistant manager but soon learned that the $13.50 an hour she made was not quite enough to cover all of her bills. Then her car broke down and she was told it wasn’t worth fixing. That added an additional cost of finding and buying a used car which she wasn’t anticipating.
Bills were piling up and I felt like my back was against the wall.
Tammy was referred to Crisis Assistance Ministry after seeking help from other agencies. Thanks to donors like you, she found immediate relief in the form of a check directly to her leasing company. Your generosity helped Tammy avoid eviction and keep her loyal companion Lucy by her side.
After getting help, she was invited to receive one-on-one coaching and counseling through Crisis Assistance Ministry’s Financial Empowerment program.
Tammy’s story is a familiar one: Her family never discussed money or budgeting so once she was on her own she had to figure out everything without any guidance. During her meetings with Economic Mobility Specialist Randee, she got to work analyzing her bills and setting up schedules for payments to get her back on track.
She recognizes, “Having to pry open my finances (with someone else), as uncomfortable as it was, was necessary because I was more relieved after every call.”
Once she laid the financial foundation, they focused on advocating for herself at her work. She requested and received a promotion, along with a small raise.
As store manager, Tammy still only makes $15 an hour. When she received notice that a different leasing company was taking over her property and raising rents, she wasn’t happy. She doesn’t have the money to move out and find a new place yet, but with the skills she learned working with Randee, she is planning for a brighter future.
Tammy hopes to one day start her own business and create her own destiny. Your generosity helped her avoid eviction and get back on track so she and Lucy can stay happily housed together.
But, there are many others in our community that need the same helping hand to avoid homelessness or utility shut-off.