Crisis Assistance Ministry’s Economic Mobility Program helps families move toward financial security and introduces pathways to economic opportunity. Outcomes are improved for families at risk of homelessness by addressing underlying social determinants of quality of life.
Enrolled families work one-on-one with a specially trained caseworker for an average of three months to identify barriers to financial security and to set goals for the future. Housing stability is guaranteed through a rent and/or utility subsidy while customers work towards their goals.
Individuals who are interested in the Economic Mobility Program should first meet with a caseworker in the Basic Needs Program.
“I know I am lucky. So many people need that kind of help and don’t have family and friends who are able to give it,” says Dywoine Massey. “I can relate to the situations moms and dads are in when they come here. That could have been me.” That’s what motivates him to keep coming back every day to his role coaching individuals and families beyond their immediate crisis toward economic mobility.
“Economic mobility” is the centerpiece of nearly every Charlotte-centered conversation these days. Wondering why? Here’s the report that started it all: “Where is the Land of Opportunity?: The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the U.S.”, by researchers at Harvard and UC-Berkeley.