Real stories
Many times, good people fall on hard times. Many of the “working poor” live paycheck-to-paycheck and do not have the extra resources to cover unexpected expenses. They have no “rainy-day” fund or savings account to draw from to pay for rent, food, or utilities when unfortunate circumstances arise. Often, they are faced with decisions of “Do I pay for rent or electricity?” or “New tires or the electric bill?”
In addition, the loss of a spouse, illness, lack of childcare and poor living conditions can quickly lead to eviction. Unpaid bills can quickly spiral. In most cases, these families do not qualify for government assistance and do not know where to turn for help.
Though the names have been changed for privacy, here are the stories of our neighbors, facing a crisis and receiving not only a helping hand, but hope for a better future from A Doorway to Hope.
Meet sara:
When child support payments were not paid, Sara, a working mother of three, had to decide between paying childcare or rent/utilities. What a tough spot – if you don't pay childcare, then you can't go to work. If you don't pay rent, you get evicted. Yikes! Thankfully we were able to help her during this stressful time. Sara recently sent a happy note saying she had found a better paying job and she was stable once again.
Meet alicia:
After recently relocating to the Triangle, Alicia lost her husband tragically. She did not have a network of friends or family to turn to for help. She was depressed and had missed a lot of work, resulting in the loss of her job. Now she was missing two sources of income and quickly got behind on many bills. Luckily, Alicia found a new job, but she was facing eviction soon. ADTH linked her with community support services and paid her rent while she made a courageous new start on life. Life looks bright again!
Meet the jones family:
The Jones family suddenly faced eviction when their landlord decided to sell their home. The family had to move outside of their base school area to find affordable housing. Mom decided to keep her children in their current school to have consistency for rest of year, but she needed with help with childcare. Thankfully, through generous donors to our Crisis Fund, we were able to help provide after-school care for these children.
Meet rhonda:
Rhonda was a single mom facing eviction. She had stable employment in a local restaurant for three years, but was let go when a newly hired manager was not fond of diversity. This hard working mom went out and found another job right away, but took a pay cut during orientation and could not afford her entire rent that was due. All she needed was a little financial assistance to keep her and her son in their home. She is now self sufficient and so very grateful!
100% of your donation
to the crisis fund goes to families in need
Meet mary and john:
Injuries sustained at work can suddenly send good, hard working families into a crisis. John hurt his back working a construction job. His wife, Mary, was working, but temporarily unable to make ends meet with unexpected loss of income. She was facing her electricity being cut off the day after she contacted us. We were able to help keep the lights on so this sweet family could take care of their little girls.
Meet maria:
We see this SO often — hard times falling upon GOOD people! Fortunately, we were able to provide assistance to a single mom experiencing a temporary loss of child support, which resulted in her getting behind on her childcare payments. Maria was faced with paying the rent or paying for childcare. Thankfully she was referred to ADTH and we helped her pay her childcare in this time of crisis.
Meet alice:
Sometimes good people just need a little help— we've all been there in varying degrees! This week we were able to partner with InterAct to help a woman who has overcome domestic violence and substance abuse and is well on her way to stability. Alice who also cares for her young grandson, recently started a new job and got slightly behind on rent in the transition. Through our Crisis Fund, we were able to help return this family to self sufficiency and continue to have HOPE for her future.
Meet doris:
Doris, her daughter and grand baby, recently moved into their new home! This working family had been living in their car and occasional nights in hotels for several weeks. They faced much heartache and loss. Thanks to our donors, our Crisis Team was able to provide the initial financial assistance to get them settled in an apartment they can afford. Doris and her daughter cried when they learned they would have keys to a new home!
Together we can make a difference.
Donate now
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.
Meet willis and leona:
Leona and Willis, two hard working parents with two young boys, were bouncing back from illness and job loss, AND staring at eviction papers. Both parents are now back to steady jobs, but were not able to afford the back rent and court fees imposed on them. ADTH was able to step in and make them financially stable again. All they needed was a listening ear and a little help to prevent them from being homeless.
Meet kelly:
Illness and loss of a second income can unexpectedly send anyone into crisis mode and bring lots of stress with it. Kelly, a local elementary school teacher, had stable employment, but unexpectedly lost the income of her spouse and faced a recent illness requiring surgery. She secured a part-time job to increase her income, but was behind on rent and utilities and could not make up the gap. Because of donations to our Crisis Fund, we were able to help Kelly get back to self sufficiency and keep her family in their home.
Meet shawna:
Shawna worked hard to move herself and her daughter into an apartment of their own, but risked eviction when her diabetes kept her out of work for a couple weeks, leaving her short on rent money. Through generous donors to our Crisis Fund, we were able to keep this family in their home. Mom and daughter were so relieved!
Meet gladys:
Recently, we helped Gladys, an elderly woman, forced to vacate her home on short notice. She found a new place to live but didn't have funds saved for the security deposit. On the brink of homelessness, she had been eating only soup for weeks trying to save up enough money. We paid her deposit and gave her a referral to Catholic Parish Outreach for food. She was so happy to get the key to her new place and to eat something other than soup!
Meet donna and travis:
When you work full time and have to take off many hours of work to care for a sick child, it often results in a loss of wages. Donna and Travis have four children under the age of 10. This dual-parent working-family was on the brink of a financial crisis after caring for a sick child. When we told Donna we could help, she cried tears of joy, tears of relief.
