On a quiet street in North Charlotte, Terri walks with her four daughters to the bus stop each morning. As the sun rises over their first real house—a place with a yard that needs mowing, front steps to race up, a well-loved basketball hoop in the driveway, and rooms for each child to play—she still finds herself pausing in disbelief. “It took me about six months to really realize, like, okay, I can breathe now,” Terri says. “I was walking them to the bus stop one day, and I thought, wow, we got a house. It’s real.”
Five years ago, Nika began a remarkable journey. As a single mother working long hours at a fast-food restaurant, she connected with Charlotte Family Housing after an eviction. During the program, she set ambitious goals: repair her credit score, build savings, advance in her career, and work toward homeownership.
Today, Nika has achieved these goals and more. She’s doubled her income as an assistant manager, built strong relationships with her coworkers, saved consistently, and is participating in the Habitat for Humanity homeownership program.
“I’m almost done with this Habitat program… They’re fixing to build me a house for me and my son. Being in this program just really, really, really helped me,” she shares with pride.
In summer 2022, Nika needed surgery that left her unable to work for several weeks. The financial strain and uncertainty triggered intense anxiety, and she spiraled into depression.
Seven children were depending on Tabetha – and she needed a solid place to land.
A crane operator and a single mother to four of her own children, as well as her sister’s three children, who she is now raising, Tabetha first came to Charlotte Family Housing in 2023.
After she and her family were forced to abruptly leave their home. Without a financial safety net or a reliable support network to lean on, they had no place to land. Tabetha felt overwhelmed and guilty at having to split her children up as she hurried to find a solution.
“At first, I’m not going to lie, I was so embarrassed and humiliated,” she recalls. “It was a very embarrassing and shameful moment for me to go through.”
By chance, she overheard a social worker talking about Charlotte Family Housing, and she applied, drawn to a program that would allow her entire family to stay together. She was accepted and moved her family of 8 into temporary housing at Plaza Place.
There, she found space to breathe and reflect. She embraced therapy and the emotional support offered by our staff and embarked on a journey of self-discovery and healing.
“I found out that I am more worthy than I thought I was. And I learned to love myself a lot more, too,” she says.
Now, more than a year into the program, Tabetha and her family are back in their own space with lots of room to live and play together.
“I needed CFH. It brought togetherness for me and my family. It actually brought us closer. I recommend the program to anybody now because whatever you put in, you’re going to get out of it.”
Veronica and her daughter were new to the city of Charlotte – and struggling in isolation.
Veronica was working, but her job didn’t pay enough to cover the cost of rent. And she didn’t have any family in town to lean on when times got tough. So she applied to Charlotte Family Housing.
Through our program, Veronica has learned tools that help her to manage her finances effectively and to manage stress and anxiety as they arise. Now, she’s able to pay her rent and her bills. She’s also able to save for the future.
“Even though I was in a storm and didn’t have anybody, Charlotte Family Housing opened their arms to us and showed us that we could still move forward. Once you walk through these doors, this is what you’re walking into: You’re walking into a new future.”
May 2019 was one of the worst months of Jay’s entire life.
She had been in a relationship marked by domestic violence. She was severely injured, unable to see out of her left eye when she received a notice requiring her and her son to vacate her apartment of five years within the next 10 days.
“I didn’t have anywhere to go,” she recalls. “I was sleeping on friends’ couches or in the car.”
Then, her son’s school counselor connected her to Charlotte Family Housing.
When Jay was accepted to our program, she began taking part in regular mental health counseling sessions to focus on her mental well-being and to learn coping skills and tools to help her navigate challenging situations moving forward. She also participated in a class designed to help her improve her credit score, which she proudly reports is now 720.
Two years after one of the worst months of her life, Jay purchased a home of her own.
“Charlotte Family Housing gave me a light when I felt like I had no way out of my situation.”
No matter what life threw at him, Steven knew he could not give up.
As one of the few single dads in our program, he is committed to building a safe, stable, and love-filled home for his two sons.
“The word ‘dad’ is a word that’s used with love. You know the word ‘father’ is distant – like, that’s my father, but I’m a dad. So when my kids say that to me, it just means something totally different.”
Steven graduated from our program after maintaining housing for a full year. He completed the program determined to continue growing in his career and achieving his goals for himself and his family.
Steven’s advice for other dads is simple: “You just have to try. Your child doesn’t know how much something costs or where something came from, but he knows you, and as long as you’re there, trying, putting in the effort, taking care of him… They love you, so all you gotta do is try.”
