A short gap between paychecks put a woman the column calls Nikki one step from eviction.
Nikki had just started a new job when the gap left a hole in her budget. Landlords rarely make exceptions. Nervous, she walked into Crisis Assistance Ministry not knowing what to expect. A caseworker listened, arranged an emergency rent payment to stop her eviction and connected her to other resources. She left with her home stabilized.
Stories like hers repeat daily, writes Nicole Ayers, the agency's director of marketing and communications, in the November Making a Difference column. Since 2010, she writes, average rent in Charlotte has climbed 61 percent while wages have barely moved. By the column's math, a minimum-wage worker would need to work 125 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom apartment at $1,180. Last fiscal year, the agency helped 44,000 people with $5.6 million in emergency housing assistance.
Local faith leaders founded the agency in 1975. It serves families who are not yet homeless but are one setback away. Beyond rent and utility help, it offers financial empowerment coaching and a Free Store of donated clothing, shoes, coats, school uniforms and household essentials, all at no charge.
A new leader
A sidebar on the same page, "Search for a New Leader," says CEO Carol Hardison will retire soon after leading the agency for 26 years. It says Katie Weeks of Armstrong McGuire, a nonprofit consulting firm, is leading the search for her successor.
How to help
The column lists five ways: give a financial gift, which goes toward keeping families housed; provide a winter coat; donate new or gently used items to the Free Store; volunteer; or share what you've learned with a friend.
This story, by contributing writer Nicole Ayers, appears in the November 2026 issue of Stroll Firethorne. Read the full edition here.