I am consistently impressed with the personal courage of our families.
Tom Rekart
CCH Director
Both Tina and Nancy have expressed profound gratitude for the housing and support they received from CCH that has enabled them to become independent, stable and self-sufficient.
Tina
Her world completely fell apart: foreclosure, the loss of her day care business, divorce, eventual abandonment. Without a home, a job, a husband or good credit, Tina and her two small children lived from couch to couch until they found CCH. Tina fought back to establish a solid career as a pre-school teacher. Today her family lives independently, leasing an apartment unit in her own name.
Nancy
Her husband was abusing drugs and was not working when Nancy separated from him. She could no longer afford her rent on her own, and she was evicted. She and her four children doubled up with a relative until they moved into CCH housing. With CCH support, Nancy has continued her college education and has begun her climb up the career ladder in a stable family resource organization. Nancy states that she is personally stronger and more confident. Recently she and her children moved into a permanent housing unit, with a lease in Nancy’s name.
Families come to the CCH program, most often from shelter, because of
- debt
- transportation problems
- abandonment or abuse
- catastrophic illness
- job loss
- foreclosure
- lack of affordable house close to where they work
While in our program, family heads of household may be limited in their education and/or job skills, but they work in positions that are important to our community, such as
- teachers’ aides and childcare workers
- nurses’ aides
- retail sales
- laborers and cleaning personnel
CCH families’ self-sufficiency and stability are measured by how well they are proceeding toward their goals of:
- increased income
- decreased debt
- financial competency
- full-time employment with health care benefits for at least six months
- affordable permanent housing for at least six months after departing the CCH program.
