WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC-Crisis Assistance Ministry sees major spike in clients
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CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Any small business would be overwhelmed with an extra 160 customers showing up all of a sudden. But when it's Crisis Assistance Ministry, they are not in the business of turning people away or referring them elsewhere.
"When I got here this morning, I saw the line wrapped around the building,"said Doug Hartjes, Chief Philanthropy Officer.
Hartjes called it unsettling, but also heartwarming because the agency gives many of those families hope.
"It's a blessing," said Shenille, a client who got in line at 7:45 am.
She works at a community center and is working on her Master's Degree for business. She did not expect to need help paying her utility bill.
"I would pay here and there, but it kept getting higher and higher," she said.
Typically CAM helps 130 clients any given day. On Monday, caseworkers helped nearly 200 and even more that Tuesday.
Hartjes said a recent $350,000 donation to the Critical Need Response Fund will help them cover the need. However, he emphasized they always need to be replenished.
The number of people the agency has helped jumped 100-percent in the past two years.
People can donate to Crisis Assistance Ministry or donate through their utility bills through the "Share the Warmth" program. Energy bills are rounded up to the dollar, with the extra change going to help customers who need it.
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