For 50 years, this community has come together here to offer hope, help, and understanding to people experiencing financial crisis in Mecklenburg County.
In April 1975, a group of concerned Charlotte citizens, led by their faith communities, saw neighbors struggling and chose action over silence. Together, they founded Crisis Assistance Ministry.
What started as a grassroots movement of Charlotte congregations has become a leader in local efforts to stabilize Charlotte-Mecklenburg families.
Rent, utilities, clothing, and household essentials to stabilize housing
Help, hope, and understanding to create long term financial stability
In 2025,
125 families seek help here every single day.
Crisis Assistance Ministry is their safety net—is Charlotte's safety net—amid the most uncertain of times.
We can't do it without you. You offer hope when all seems lost.
After 50 years, let's renew our commitment to the community we all love and serve together, and the fervent hope that we're put out of business before we see another anniversary.
Throughout our anniversary year, we celebrate YOU and the impact you make for your neighbors every day.
Thank you for extending 50 years of help, hope, and understanding to neighbors with nowhere else to turn.
Timeline of 50 Years of Impact
From a faith‑rooted founding to community‑powered expansion, strategic leadership, deepening impact, and resilient reinvention.
Recession
The main catalyst for Crisis Assistance Ministry’s beginning
1974
Caroline Myers works at Covenant Presbyterian Church as Director of Community Mission. Many people come to Covenant seeking assistance. Charlotte Area Clergy Association evaluates the problem.
1975
Crisis Assistance Ministry opens at Dilworth United Methodist Church under the 501(c)3 of the Charlotte Area Clergy Association. Caroline Myers is the director.
1978
Clothing & housewares assistance program launches. This cements Crisis Assistance Ministry as the central hub for Charlotteans to receive essential items free of charge.
1982
Crisis Assistance Ministry begins administering Mecklenburg County General Assistance funds at the recommendation of county commissioners.
1984
Named lead agency for emergency financial assistance (EFA) in Mecklenburg County.
1985
Agency established as an independent 501(c)3 and moves from “not just a faith-based organization, but a community-based organization,” according to Myers. Named Lead Agency for Financial Assistance countywide.
1988
Agency moves to new county building at 500 Spratt St., and Financial Assistance and Clothing Ministry are united under one roof.
1990 – 1991
With Mecklenburg County grant, the agency enters the digital age with computer hardware funding and electronic recordkeeping. The agency’s Furniture & Appliance Ministry begins.
1995
Partners in Hope program established to provide longer-term relationships and support.
1999
Launched Partner Agency concept, training other caseworkers to access our systems.
2000
Carol Hardison named agency executive director, succeeding
founding Director Caroline Love Myers.
2005
Agency is honored with prestigious Bank of America Neighborhood Builder Award.
2008
During the Great Recession, Crisis Assistance Ministry became the lead agency for the management of federal stimulus dollars in Mecklenburg County.
2010
The agency launches Poverty Simulation program to invoke deeper understanding and empathy of the realities faced by those living with limited financial resources.
2013
Financial Empowerment program launches to help low-income individuals through financial coaching.
2020
Services transform to meet community needs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Operated drive-through services.
• Launched Partner Agency Shopping Service to
create greater access to the Free Store.
• Over 1,400 families saved from hotel eviction
when the agency pivoted to fill a community gap.
2024
Mass Displacement Event Service begins to find housing for people living in multifamily residences that are closing. Benefits Access Service launches to help people get access to their public benefits. Furniture Operations consolidates into local nonprofit dedicated to furniture.
2025
The agency marks 50 years of providing stability services in Mecklenburg County.
You've Been Changing Lives Since 1975
A Tale of Two Customers
Crisis Assistance Ministry sits at the corner of Statesville Avenue and Graham Street, just outside of uptown Charlotte — and at the edge of a great many people’s lives. Consider Mandy and Shawn. They have never met. But not long ago, they both found themselves in the very same place: waiting anxiously in the lobby of Crisis Assistance […]
Sharing Hope, Warmth, & Light
Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for seeing me past my circumstances because I’ve come out on the other side.
Warm Hearts, Warm Smiles For More Than 20 Years
More than two decades ago, then WSOC Meteorologist Steve Udelson saw a need and rallied the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community to solve it. That first year, viewers donated about 3,000 coats for people served by Crisis Assistance Ministry. By the time Steve retired, the annual collection was averaging more than 30,000 coats. All told, Steve’s Coats is […]
I Know How It Feels
On the day her family sought help at Crisis Assistance Ministry, Jennifer had to use her gas card at the convenience store to get bread and peanut butter to feed her three young children. It was the only way. They were completely out of cash and she did not have anything else to help them […]