Sandhills/Moore Coalition for Human Care

What we offer our clients

Utility Support

A grandmother is given custody of her four grandkids. Her social security benefits take care of most of their needs but one month she receives an incredibly high electric bill. She comes to the Coalition for help and after a brief interview, a volunteer calls the electric company and pledges the Coalition will pay the bill, or a portion of it. The grandmother is also given food for seven days and some extra clothing. By providing the clothes and food, the grandmother will now have a money to pay her other bills.

Prescriptions

A man in his 80's has chronic, but manageable health problems. He has Medicare, which does not cover prescriptions. The premiums on a supplemental insurance policy is not in the budget and he doesn't qualify for Medicaid assistance. When an illness leads to the need for a $300 prescription, he comes to the Coalition for help. Again the man is interviewed and the new prescription is paid for. All clients are encouraged to tell their doctors that it is difficult to pay for some of their medicines.

Housing

A woman and her two children live in a rented apartment. The mother has always worked and paid her rent on time. Each day she takes her children to daycare and then drives 15 miles each way from work to home. Her car breaks down and she misses a week of work to arrange repairs. She pays $380 to the garage for the work done. Now, it's the first of the month and her rent is due. She comes to the Coalition in tears, not sure if she made the right decision. Our volunteers agree with her decision to use her money to repair her car, so she could continue to earn a living and support her children. Her rent is $400 a month. The Coalition pledges to pay the landlord $100 and he arranges a payment schedule for the balance with our client. Since she has been a reliable tenant, he agrees to work with her.

Transportation

A 20-year-old man moves to Southern Pines to start a new home of his own. He has a little money saved and rents an apartment. After a few months he realizes that without a car and an education he will have difficulty finding employment fast enough to begin meeting his financial obligations. He came to the Coalition afraid he would soon be homeless. Our volunteers talked with him about the options available to help prevent this type of crisis. The young man called his parents who live in another state and they said he could come home. The Coalition paid for his bus ticket home so he could better prepare for life on his own.

Dental

A couple came to the Coalition early one morning because the woman had a sudden swollen and painful dental problem. It was obvious she was in terrible pain. She had no insurance or family dental provider. Her husband had just started a new job and it would be weeks before he would have his first paycheck. She needed the services of a dentist immediately. The volunteer she spoke with called a local dentist who has very generously given of his time and skills to assist individuals in the past. He agreed to see her that morning and treated her for an abscess. In addition, he scheduled a dental extraction she needed badly. Although the procedures he performed would customarily cost several hundred dollars, his charge to the Coalition was only $100.

-We also help with clothing and special needs on an as needed basis.

Understanding life's ups and downs

When families live on low incomes, emergencies can develop quickly. Although there are government programs that assist low-income families, there is usually a delay between when the application is made and when the services begin. The Coalition has the ability to give a rapid response to help families with emergencies. Additionally, the Coalition has the flexibility to deal financially with a wide range of needs.

The number of clients served has grown from 3,712 in 1998 to 6,171 in 2008. As the number of people needing assistance grows each year, so does the need for funding. We are extremely grateful to the many churches, citizens, groups and the United Way of Moore County who have steadfastly given of their time, energy and finances to support the mission of this organization.