On a warm Saturday morning in late October 2025, Eddie graduated from Crisis Assistance Ministry’s Financial Empowerment service. Following months of one-on-one counseling filled with honest — and sometimes challenging — conversations with his Financial Empowerment Specialist, Randee, Eddie marked his hard work with a graduation celebration.
Life Before Financial Empowerment
In early 2025, Eddie was married with four children. He had a thriving career, a loving family, and was barely getting by financially.
“My life was paycheck-to-paycheck,” says Eddie. “It was getting an overdraft for the sake of making sure a car payment was made on time and setting myself back for the next time I got paid. I was tired of being completely broke.”
The pattern felt unbreakable.
“I was almost in the process of being evicted,” he said. “It’s a different type of urgency because it’s not just me. It’s my whole family that could be out. That scared me.”
From Football Scholarship to Broke
A lifelong Charlottean, Eddie’s high school alma mater is West Mecklenburg, where his football skills earned him a scholarship to play football at Johnson C. Smith University.
“The football scholarship ran out after four years since you only get four years of eligibility to play,” Eddie says. “That fifth year, I couldn’t go back. Unfortunately, I don’t come from a family who could afford it.”
That was in 2007, the same year Eddie started what would be a 16-year-career with Autism Services in Mecklenburg County. It was also the start of a financial roller-coaster that would leave him tired and broke.
Eddie admits to being careless with money in his early to mid-20s. He was evicted three times because of his lack of financial management. Many of his financial habits followed him into his 30s, even after he got married and became a father of four.
Despite the financial strain, he continued to excel professionally. In 2019, recognizing his potential for advancement, he enrolled at the University of Phoenix to complete his degree.
“I saw myself climbing the ladder, and I said to myself, I can be in administration or working in an office with all the experience I have,” says Eddie. “Go get your degree now! You never know where it will lead you.”
He graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science degree in correctional support services. But he was still broke.
Finally, Financially Empowered
The near eviction in 2025 was when reality hit Eddie. He was tired of juggling bills because money was always tight. He felt he would never get ahead. After a friend mentioned Financial Empowerment, Eddie jumped to enroll.
Over the next four months, Eddie and Financial Empowerment Specialist Randee dug into every part of Eddie’s financial picture. Randee encouraged intentional spending, and Eddie committed to sharing openly about his habits. Together, they navigated ways to tighten spending and find extra income to add to Eddie’s bank account.
“Randee made it easy to be transparent and vulnerable,” says Eddie. “I don’t mind saying this, but there were sessions I cried. But Randee never judged me; he never looked at me like I was just a guy taking advantage of the system.”
Through Financial Empowerment, the duo uncovered financial habits that were putting Eddie behind.
“I could be an impulsive spender,” says Eddie. “I’d say to myself, the bills are paid and I still have $500 left in the bank account. OK, I’m going to spend it.”
Small shifts created big changes. Eddie began planning (and paying!) ahead instead of reacting to each paycheck. He opened a savings account and started paying himself first, sending money to his dad for safekeeping, so he wouldn’t be tempted to use it.
Now, as a Financial Empowerment graduate, Eddie takes things one day at a time but carries Randee’s guidance with him:
“Be intentional. If you really want to save money, you have to be intentional.”
Eddie’s journey is just one example of what becomes possible when our community invests in more than a quick fix. Financial Empowerment helped him move from constant exhaustion and near‑eviction to a place of stability, intention, and hope for his family’s future. During the 2026 Challenge, every dollar given to Crisis Assistance Ministry is matched, dollar for dollar, up to $1 million—doubling the resources that make stories like Eddie’s possible. That means each gift helps twice as many neighbors move beyond crisis, build a stronger financial footing, and write a new chapter where “tired and broke” is no longer the ending.
