Crisis Ministry

For many working poor families, living paycheck-to-paycheck means there is no savings account, or one month’s salary saved for emergencies. Numerous situations such as a loss of a spouse, a long-term illness, a lost job, or even a car breaking down can send good, hard-working people into a crisis. When this occurs, rent, utilities and other bills go unpaid, starting a downward spiral of unfortunate circumstances, often leading to eviction. In many cases, these families do not qualify for government assistance and do not know where to turn for help. Our Crisis Team works with local Wake County school social workers, partner agencies and churches to help those at this critical juncture who need temporary assistance to get back on their feet. ADTH provides one-time financial assistance in addition to partnering with other local agencies to meet the immediate needs of the family and return them to self-sufficiency. Our Crisis Team carefully screens each referral, discussing income, verifying employment, speaking with landlords, etc., to ensure that we are not only good stewards of our funds but that we can meet the needs of the recipient and return them to stability. Recipients of our Crisis Ministry must:

Have at least one employed adult in the household and provide proof of stable employment.
Be referred by an ADTH-affiliated social worker or agency who has been working with the family for at least three months.
Be a resident of Wake County. We serve the following zip codes:
27502, 27511, 27512, 27513, 27518, 27519, 27523, 27526, 27539, 27540, 27560, 27601, 27605, 27606, 27607, 27608, 27610
Provide a reason for the recent crisis. Recipients cannot have an ongoing cycle of unpaid bills or chronic stability issues.
All payments are made directly to the landlord or bill collector

ADTH’s Crisis Ministry is unique. By partnering with community agencies and caseworkers in Wake County, we provide the following programs to families:

Rent Assistance

ADTH provides funds to help families facing homelessness stay in their current living arrangements, as well as help families coming out of homelessness pay for rental deposits for new housing. Rental assistance helps families regain self-sufficiency and prevents the debilitating sting of eviction. We partner with agencies such as Dorcas Ministries, Western Wake Crisis Ministries, St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, The Carying Place, Family Promise, Designed for Joy, Dress for Success, Families Together and more.

Food & Clothing Assistance

ADTH assists families-in-need of food or clothing by providing gift cards, vouchers to our partner agency Catholic Parish Outreach, or referrals to partner agencies such as Dorcas Ministries, Note in the Pocket, Western Wake Crisis Ministries, and other community agencies.

Household Furnishing Assistance

ADTH provides household goods and furnishings to families who can move into a dwelling but lack necessary kitchen, linens, and furniture. ADTH partners with A Green Chair Project to provide furnishings for a home. We also welcome each family to their new home with a basket of essential household goods such as toilet paper, detergent, paper towels, toothpaste and more.

Child Care Assistance

ADTH provides after-school and before-school childcare for working poor families. Families at the poverty level often do not have the additional means to pay for childcare and, often a loss of childcare can result in a loss of income, with a cascading effect on bills. We aid with childcare through partnering agencies such as Wake County Public School and the YMCA or help to keep a child with their current childcare provider. In addition, we work with the YMCA to provide summer camps to children who cannot afford them.

Utility Assistance

ADTH provides families with deposits for new utility services or helps with overdue and current bills to sustain the current utility services and prevent services from being discontinued.

Summer Foods

Food Security

Summer Foods Ministry

Summertime – sunshine and a break from school is a time to celebrate for many kids. But for some children, it means hungry, growling tummies. ADTH participates in the Wake County Summer Foods Program, a USDA program that provides free, nutritious meals during the summer to children who receive free or reduced price meals during the school year.

More than 56,000 students in Wake County, representing 36% of students in the Wake County public schools, are eligible for Free and Reduced-Priced school meals. Many of these children are at risk for hunger in the summer months. Annually, only four percent of the federal government budget allocated for child hunger is spent. The funds are available; we just need volunteers to make it happen!

In 2022, our volunteers served nutritious meals at The Arbors of Cary and Chatham Estates in Cary. Since we joined the Summer Foods program in North Carolina, we have served more than 2,000 meals to low-income families. In addition to providing meals, we form positive relationships with the children by playing games, doing art projects and greeting them with a smile and conversation.

Produce Box Delivery

ADTH is part of Wake County’s Western Wake Hunger Coalition of community agencies and churches working together to eliminate hunger. Thanks to wonderful volunteers like you, we are making a difference in impoverished neighborhoods in Cary. We have an opportunity to deliver produce boxes to families in need in our community.

Check back later this summer to volunteer.

Please join us again in Fall 2023!

About

Who we are

A Doorway to Hope is a Christian organization serving working, low income families who are at a crisis point and need a helping hand. ADTH provides one-time assistance designed to prevent homelessness and create economic stability. We partner with Wake County Public School social workers, churches and other community agencies (Dorcas Ministries, Western Wake Crisis Ministry, The Carying Place, Interact, and others in Wake County to carefully screen impoverished, working families. These families often do not quality for government assistance.

Our mission

A Doorway to Hope provides necessary resources and links to local services to give temporary, emergency help. The goal of our experienced, 100% volunteer staff is to return families-in-need to self-sufficiency.

Who we help

More than 10% of the one million people living in Wake County live in poverty. That breaks out to over 106,000 people who struggle to make ends meet every day. What is even more heartbreaking, is that of those 106,000 people, ONE in four are children. It is nearly impossible for one full-time employed, minimum wage worker to support even one child without falling into poverty. According to the News and Observer’s special report on Seeing the Invisible, “North Carolina has one of the country’s fastest rising poverty rates. A decade ago, we were 26th – a little better than average. Now we’re 11th, speeding past the competition. We’ve also seen, over the same period, one of the steepest increases in the ranks of the uninsured.”

For many of the working poor, living pay check-to-paycheck means there is no savings fund, no one month’s salary saved for emergencies. Numerous situations such as a spouse leaving, a long term illness, lost job or even a car breaking down can send good, hard working people into a crisis. Rent, utility and other bills go unpaid. Eviction notices start a downward spiral of unfortunate circumstances. This is where A Doorway to Hope can help. We do not subsidize income, rather we link working families in crisis with partner agencies to meet their immediate need, returning them to a state of self sufficiency. Want to make an impact? Learn more about how you can make a difference!

How we help

We provide a specialized needs assessment, for each family, which determines how we can serve them best and break the cycle of poverty.

Emergency assistance through our Crisis Ministry
Summer Foods Program
Household Essentials Baskets
Angel Tree Christmas Project

Providing a helping hand in times of crisis

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Ensuring food security during summer break

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A helping hand, not a hand out

Did you know one in three North Carolina children live in poverty? It is impossible for one full-time employed, minimum wage worker to support even one child without falling into poverty. A Doorway to Hope is a Christian organization serving working, low income families who are at a crisis point and need a helping hand. ADTH provides necessary resources and links to local services to give temporary, emergency help to return families to a state of self-sufficiency.

Crisis Ministry

Crisis Ministry

Rent Assistance

Food & Clothing Assistance

Household Furnishing Assistance

Child Care Assistance

Utility Assistance

Summer Foods

Food Security

Summer Foods Ministry

Produce Box Delivery

Please join us again in Fall 2023!

About

Who we are

Our mission

Who we help

How we help

A helping hand, not a hand out

Real Life Stories

Crisis Ministry

Summer Foods

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