Crisis Ministry
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!
Donate
Donate today!
Sometimes all that is needed is a little help, giving someone hope. Our Crisis Fund is designed to do just that. Will you help us, help others? We accept credit cards and checks.
Checks may be sent to:
A Doorway to Hope
P.O. Box 911
Cary, NC 27512
Make checks payable to: A Doorway to Hope
Join our Circle of Hope
You can do even more to combat homelessness by becoming a monthly donor! Sustained giving is the best way to help ADTH support people in need throughout the year. You can choose whatever amount is comfortable for you and make changes at any time. Your monthly gift will help keep the lights on, provide food for hungry children, and shelter for many families. Please sign up today to be a monthly donor!
When you join ADTH’s Circle of Hope, you will receive the following:
- Exclusive monthly email updates on actual crisis cases ADTH is helping
- Knowing your monthly gift will maximize your impact on families in crisis who are facing homelessness
- Be a part of a team committed to preventing evictions and keeping families together – people like you who give what they can, month after month
Please make sure to check the box to make it a monthly donation!
Thank you!
Stock Donations
Download our Stock donation form for charitable giving. All donations are tax deductible. A Doorway to Hope is a registered 501(c) not-for-profit organization in the state of North Carolina.
100% of your donation goes directly to the families we serve.
Through our Crisis Ministry, Angel Tree Program and Summer Foods Program, we serve nearly 900 adults and children a year. We are a 100% volunteer organization and strive to keep our operating costs extremely low in order for us to serve more families. Heartbreaking statistics show that one in three North Carolina children live in poverty. Astonishingly, more than 100,000 people in Wake County live in poverty. The people right here in our communities need your help. Help us meet the need.
We take giving to a personal level.
Through your generous donations to our Crisis Fund, recipients are able to support their basic needs. By partnering with local agencies to fund after school care for children, families can keep their jobs. By providing seed funding for a lawn mower or a sewing machine, a new business venture has taken flight. We provide financial assistance in times of a crisis and we partner with other community agencies to bridge the gap to self sufficiency.
Here's what your financial contribution can do:
- $5,000-10,000 helps an entrepreneur build a business.
- $3,500 helps prevent eviction with rent assistance.
- $2,000 provides childcare for a working mom.
- $1,000 furnishes an entire home with beds for children.
- $250 buys groceries for hungry families.
- $100 fills a tank of gas so a parent can go to work.
Our Crisis Fund helps prevent homelessness
Our sponsors give back
We are so blessed to have sponsors in our community to support our efforts in terms of monetary, in-kind and volunteer support. If your organization would like to get involved, please contact us. Our biggest need for volunteer groups is in mid November. Monetary funding helps our organization support need families in our communities year round. We are a certified, North Carolina recognized 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. We are so grateful to all of our sponsors!
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
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.
Real Life Stories
Sara, a working mother of three, had to decide between paying rent or childcare. Read about Sara and others in our community.
Crisis Ministry
ADTH provides temporary assistance to help our neighbors facing a crisis. We strive to prevent homelessness, one family at a time.
Summer Foods
Hunger does not take a summer break! ADTH provides free, nutritious meals during the summer to impoverished children.
Donate
Sometimes hard times fall on good people. We need your help. Can you help us meet the need?
- P.O. Box 911
Cary, NC 27512 - (919) 907-2345