Heidi came into one of our eight area Emergency Assistance Centers. She is fairly new to our town. Heidi is a single mom with two daughters. She and her girls had been staying at a hotel and paying rent by the week and she rapidly running out money and resources.

Someone suggested Heidi come by our office. She came in inquiring about what services we offered and questioned if you had to be Catholic to receive help from Catholic Charities. Our case manager shared with Heidi that all services provided are free and based on need – not religion, race or nationality.

While Heidi was at our office she began looking at our job board. She found a local temp agency she was interested in but the application had to be filled out online. Our case manager helped her create an online account and sort through jobs. The temp agency answered her application the next day and she came back in so excited that they had responded to her so quickly.

Heidi’s only problem now was she had no business casual clothes to wear for her interview. We were able to help her find two outfits from our clothes closet and a pair of shoes. She had a renewed excitement when she got the clothes. We were able to help her out with some food from our pantry and a couple of stuffed bears for her daughters, as they had no toys.

She came back in yesterday to tell us that this Friday she will be getting her second paycheck. We’re so glad that we were able to offer Heidi a new beginning for her and her daughters who had already named their teddy bears. Hope changes everything…